Sightseeing in MiddleEarth
by vericus
Summary: Erin, from 21st century Canada, wakes up one morning in MiddleEarth. When she joins the Fellowship, the path of the quest is forever changed, and no one can tell how it will end. Spellchecked, lightly editted, and reuploaded
1. Bilbo, Ielenia, and an Unidentified Male

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
I don't own any of it. Never have, never will.  
  
~ Chapter I~  
  
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I woke up that morning and found myself in Middle-Earth. After all, hadn't I wished on a falling star before going to sleep - and at every other chance I got to make a wish - to go to Middle-Earth? But really, who expects idle wishes to come true? We all hope they will, of course, but when was the last time you heard of a wish coming true without a lot of effort on the wishers part to see that wish achieved? Never?  
  
My point exactly.  
  
So I was rather surprised when I woke up to discover that, though I'd fallen asleep in my bed in the middle of Toronto in the 21st century, I'd woken up on the edge of a cliff in the middle of nowhere with no civilization in sight. And then the water went by.  
  
Nothing will freak you out more then hundreds of tons of water rushing by just a few feet away from you. Except perhaps hundreds of tons of water in the shape of HORSES rushing by just a few feet away from you. I'm pretty sure I screamed as the water went by. Once I'd gotten over that shock, I started to really think about what was happening.  
  
"I'm dreaming." I said out loud to myself. "That's it, Erin, no more eating Pot of Gold chocolates and watching the Lord of the Rings before bed." Then I pinched myself. It hurt. "Hey, you're not supposed to hurt." I said to the offending pinched spot on my arm. I looked around again, then kicked a tree that was nearby.  
  
"Ow!" I exclaimed, grabbing my foot and hopping around. After the pain had subsided to a dull throbbing, I sat down under the afore-kicked tree to think over the situation. I was in the middle of the wilderness, no civilization in sight. A whole crapload of water had just gone by in the shape of horses.  
  
I felt my eyes widen in shock as my sleepy brain finally connected those pieces of information with the movie I had watched just before going to bed. Once more, I thought about denying that this was real, but the throbbing pain in my foot reminded me that this was very real. So...judging from that water, I was in Middle-Earth, close to Rivendell, at the time Frodo arrived. And I was in my pajamas.  
  
"Well, this should be interesting." I said dryly to the world at large, then got up and dusted myself off. "Off to Rivendell, then." Since that water just came by and I didn't see anything black tumbling around in it, I guessed the path into Rivendell would be downstream, and so I set off determinedly. Quite soon, I was picking my way carefully along the ground, watching out for sharp rocks and sticks, and leaving a small trail of little blood spots from a cut in the bottom of my foot.  
  
"Stupid forest. Stupid sticks. Stupid rocks. Stupid ground. Stupid nature." I mumbled, glaring back the way I'd come once I reached a rather obvious path. There was the river not too far away, and I could just see someone on a white horse disappearing quickly along the path on the other side. So I set off after the horse.  
  
"Stupid river." I said, yanking my foot out of the cold water almost before the temperature registered. I eyed the river. It was a very long way to the other side, and the water was freezing cold.  
  
"Lovely. By the time I get to Rivendell, I'll be in worse shape then Frodo." I said sarcastically, experimentally dipping my toes into the water to see if it had changed temperature in the past 30 seconds. It hadn't.  
  
"Fine then, off to hypothermia land we go." I said with mock cheerfulness, and set off carefully across the river. The rocks were slippery, the water was cold, and before I was halfway across, my feet were numb and I was completely soaked. I did manage to get across without seriously injuring myself, though. Once on the other shore, I sat down for awhile, curled up, and tried to bring feeling back into my feet. They weren't turning any unnatural colours, so that was good, but they felt like ice even to my already cold hands. After a short bit, I figured I'd better get up and get moving, otherwise I never would, and wouldn't that be a lovely sight for Aragorn and the other three hobbits when they came across the river? A frozen 16 year old girl.  
  
So, with a sigh, I dragged myself to my feet and set to trudging down the path, away from the river. Following it, it wasn't long until I saw Rivendell proper, and I stopped in admiration - and slightly in shock. I don't think I'd really believed, until I found myself staring down into Rivendell, that I was in Middle-Earth.  
  
The Elvish city was beautiful - it had sounded great in the book, had looked even more wonderful in the movie, but nothing compared to the real Rivendell. As I watched, I saw Elves scurrying about, and a big bustle being made in a courtyard in the middle of Rivendell, where the white horse that I'd seen crossing the river stood. It's riders were nowhere in sight, and even as I watched, the crowd in the courtyard dispersed, and the horse was led off. Rivendell returned to quiet, with few signs that the One Ring had just arrived in it.  
  
"Well, let's go, shall we?" I muttered to myself, and continued down the path into Rivendell. As I walked, I saw very few Elves, and those that did, to my surprise, seemed to not notice me. This seriously worried me, as I didn't want to spend my entire time in Middle-Earth talking to myself. So, experimentally, I stepped in front of a male Elf that was walking by.  
  
"S'cuz me, I was wondering if you could help me." I said to the Elf. The Elf looked at me in surprise. "You see, I kind of just arrived here, and fell in the river getting here in the first place, and I'd really like to know if there's someplace I can go to get warmed up and possibly find a change of clothes."  
  
"You'd best ask Lord Elrond that. He sees to all non-Elves who come to Rivendell." the Elf said warily.  
  
"Well, can you point me towards his house, then?" I asked, though I was pretty sure which one it was, anyways.  
  
"It's right over there." the Elf said, pointing to the house in the middle of Rivendell where I'd seen the commotion earlier. Exactly the house I'd thought it would be.  
  
"Thanks!" I said, then waved and headed off for the house. The Elf simply shrugged and continued on his way. Once I reached the house, I wandered into the courtyard and looked around. It was dead quiet. And deserted. No one was in sight. Cautiously, I headed towards the doors.  
  
"Hello?" I asked the empty hallway. No response. I shrugged and went in, then contemplated which way to go. There was a hallway to my left and right, and both curved out of sight after only a short while.  
  
"Maybe I'd be better sitting on the steps until the other hobbits and Aragorn show up." I mumbled. But I really was very cold, and wet, and starting to get hungry. So I turned to the right and set off down the hall. It wove around and went all over the place, and I'm sure I went through several intersections twice, but not once did I see a single Elf. Eventually, I gave up and turned off onto the first other hallway I saw. It led to some stairs, and as I went up, I looked around and saw a little old man sitting on a bench scribbling something in a book.  
  
'Gee, wonder who that is?' I thought sarcastically. Since Elves were immortal and didn't go grey, let alone white, and this person was incredibly short, even for an old man, it could only be Bilbo Baggins.  
  
"Hello." I said, and Bilbo looked up at me in surprise.  
  
"Oh, hallo. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come up." he said politely.  
  
"I'm just glad to see somebody else in this huge place." I said. "I've been wandering around for a good while now trying to find someone."  
  
"Someone in particular, or someone in general?" Bilbo asked, hopping off his bench.  
  
"Someone in general." I said.  
  
"Well, you've found me. Bilbo Baggins, at your service." The hobbit said, smiling up at me.  
  
"Erin." I replied, returning Bilbo's smile.  
  
"Say, you're all damp." Bilbo remarked.  
  
"Yeah, fell in the river." I said. My pajamas had dried somewhat, but they were still damp, as Bilbo had noticed.  
  
"That river's rather cold." Bilbo remarked.  
  
"Tell me about it. You wouldn't happen to have a blanket around?" I asked hopefully. At this, Bilbo looked startled, and took a side-step so he could see the side of my head.  
  
"Say, you're human." he remarked.  
  
"Yep." I said. "A cold one, at that." I added.  
  
"Well, let's get you something warm then. Follow me." Bilbo said, motioning for me to follow him, then he set off at a good pace, and I followed. We came to what he informed me were his rooms, and he looked around for a moment before opening a hobbit-sized chest at the base of his bed and pulling out a large blanket.  
  
"This is the largest blanket I have." Bilbo said apologectically, handing me the blanket, and I immediately wrapped it around me. It touched the floor - barely - while wrapped around my shoulders, and seemed to glow with warmth.  
  
"It's wonderful." I said, smiling happily as I snuggled into the blanket.  
  
"Good." Bilbo said with a smile. "I'm afraid I don't have a change of clothes that would fit you, but I'm sure Elrond will be able to find some. He's busy right now, though, so I'll just nip down to the kitchen to get you some tea in the meantime." With that, Bilbo set off, leaving me to add some more wood to his dieing fire. There were two stools nearby, and I pulled one close to the fire to wait. The fire was going quite nicely, and I was actually starting to warm up, when Bilbo came back carrying a tray with the things for tea on it, followed by a female Elf.  
  
"Hi!" I said to the Elf.  
  
"This is Merenmir, Erin. She insisted on coming with me for some reason." Bilbo said cheerily, then set down the tray on the other stool.  
  
"Lovely fire you have going." Bilbo commented.  
  
"Yes, I'm actually starting to warm up." I replied.  
  
"Who are you?" Merenmir asked me, suddenly standing next to me, eyeing me.  
  
"Now now, Merenmir, I told you, she's a human named Erin and she fell in the river." Bilbo said matter-of-factly as he set about pouring some tea.  
  
"What he said." I said, nodding in Bilbo's direction, since the elf seemed to be waiting for an answer from me.  
  
"We are not expecting any humans in Rivendell for several days." Merenmir said flatly.  
  
"I don't think I'm expected in general." I said I said dryly.  
  
"Sugar or cream?" Bilbo asked me, seemingly completely oblivious to Merenmir's and my conversation. I paused to think about that. I normally didn't drink tea, but the few times I had I had decided that it wasn't too bad if you heaped sugar into it.  
  
"Lots of sugar, please, no cream." I replied.   
  
"If you are not expected, why then have you come?" Merenmir asked, eyeing me once more as Bilbo handed me my cup of tea.  
  
"Does one need a reason to come see Rivendell?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"In these dark times, all need reasons to be where ever they are, lest they be considered a spy for the dark lord." Merenmir said darkly as I sipped my tea.  
  
"I suppose wanting to get warm doesn't count as a reason." I said with a sigh.  
  
"Sounds like reason enough to go anywhere to me." Bilbo commented, sipping his own tea, now.  
  
"It is not reason enough for me." Merenmir countered.  
  
"Well, I can't really give you any reason other then that. I was cold, I was wet, and Rivendell was the closest - and probably safest - place to get warm and dry." I said with a shrug. Merenmir watched me for a moment as I drank my tea, staring back at her, and then she turned and left.  
  
"I say, she was acting oddly." Bilbo remarked.  
  
"I don't think she trusts me." I said with a half smile.  
  
"There's no reason for her not to." Bilbo said matter-of-factly.  
  
"In your eyes, maybe. But the eyes of an elf are very different from those of a hobbit." I said simply. 'Oh god, did I just say that?' I thought as soon as I'd finished speaking. 'I'm sounding like Gandalf or Galadriel...that can't be good..'. my thoughts were interrupted by Bilbo's happy exclamation.  
  
"Oh, someone who's heard of hobbits! I say, that is rare these days. I find myself having to explain to everyone, even elves, what a hobbit is, and in the end I usually have to tell them I'm a halfling and leave it at that." Bilbo said. I smiled.  
  
"Well that makes sense, considering how much you hobbits keep to yourself." I said, and Bilbo nodded.  
  
"For which Gandalf seems very grateful." Bilbo commented. "I say, you do know who Gandalf is, right?"  
  
"Gandalf the Grey? Of course." I said with a smile.  
  
"Oh, so you've met him!" Bilbo said.  
  
"No, I've heard of him. Never actually met him, though I have no doubt I will soon." I said.  
  
"Well of course. I'll have to introduce you when he gets here. He's supposed to be coming with my nephew, you know." Bilbo said.  
  
"Actually, he'll be coming by himself." I said. "Your nephew's already here."  
  
"Frodo's already here? And Elrond didn't come get me?" Bilbo said, stopping.  
  
"I think he's a little busy healing Frodo." I said, suddenly wondering if telling Bilbo this was a good idea.  
  
"Healing Frodo? Whatever is wrong with the boy?" Bilbo asked curiously.  
  
"His journey here wasn't exactly the smoothest." I replied cautiously.  
  
"Oh dear. I should go see him." Bilbo said worriedly.  
  
"He'll be fine, Bilbo." I said reassuringly, finishing my tea.  
  
"Oh good." Bilbo said with a sigh of relief, then looked worried again. "But why didn't Gandalf come with him?"  
  
"I wouldn't know." I lied.  
  
"Oh dear, that is most distressing. I do hope Gandalf is alright." Bilbo said, worried once more.  
  
"I think he can take care of himself." I said with a reassuring smile. The conversation quickly turned to other things, and Bilbo soon set to rambling on about his book and his journeys and the shire. It was actually all quite interesting, and I was sorry when Merenmir appeared again.  
  
"Lord Elrond wants to see the Lady Erin." Merenmir said flatly, and I got up from the chair. I was nice and warm now, and took off the blanket and folded it up carefully before heading out after Ielenia. After a few turns, it suddenly occurred to me that I was still in my pajamas, and I tugged on Merenmir's sleeve. She stopped and looked back at me, not looking pleased.  
  
"I don't suppose I could get a change of clothes?" I asked, and then motioned to my pajamas. "I'd prefer not to meet the lord of Rivendell in these." Merenmir eyed me.  
  
"They look good enough to me." she said, and turned and headed off again. I shrugged. 'Oh well.' I thought as I followed Merenmir. 'Let's go see the lord of Rivendell in our pajamas then...' 


	2. Elrond, Arwen and more Bilbo

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Not mine. Erin's mine. Otherwise, not mine.  
  
~ Chapter II~  
  
~ Elrond, Arwen and more Bilbo ~  
  
After several more turns and what seemed like an hour of walking, Merenmir stopped in front of a door and knocked. After a moment, she opened the door, and I presumed her Elven hearing had caught the command to enter. Inside, the room was small, and standing in it were Lord Elrond and Arwen. They looked very much like the actors in the movies, but there was a subtle difference to them - they seemed more...I don't know, graceful, older, wise. More Elvish, really. Also, once I really got thinking about it, there was an almost indescernable difference in their face shape - more elongated, and the outer edges of their eyes tilted upwards slightly, while the eye shape in general was more almond-shaped, like asian eyes.  
  
"Lord Elrond, Lady Arwen." Merenmir said, curtseying, and the eyed me when I bowed slightly instead of curtseying. Elrond arched an eyebrow at that, and Arwen half-smiled. Since I came from the 21st century, I never really had to curtsey, or even bow, to anyone, and I wasn't about to attempt a curtsey now. I was liable to trip over my own feet. Not that I wanted to curtsey. I had always been something of a tomboy, and curtseying just went against my grain.  
  
"Welcome to Rivendell, Lady Erin." Elrond said.  
  
"Nice to be here." I said, not quite sure what to say.  
  
"Merenmir tells us that you managed to arrive without anyone knowing." Elrond commented.  
  
"Well, you were all pretty busy dealing with your new arrivals." I said with a shrug.  
  
"Still, I am amazed you did not find an elf before finding the hobbit." Elrond said.  
  
"I did. They said to go to you. But, as I said, you were busy. So I just kinda wandered around until I found someone - who turned out to be Bilbo." I said.  
  
"Your speech is quite odd." Arwen commented, speaking for the first time. "Tell me, where is your homeland?"  
  
"A looooooooooooong ways away." I said emphatically.  
  
"But what is it called?" Arwen asked, looking curious.  
  
"Canada." I said simply.  
  
"I have never heard of that place." Arwen said with a slight frown.  
  
"Well I said it was a long ways away." I said with a shrug.  
  
"Indeed." Elrond said, frowning slightly. "Tell me, where on Middle-Earth is this 'Canada' you speak of?"  
  
"It's not on Middle-Earth." I said flatly. THAT made them look at me.  
  
"Explain." Elrond said sharply.  
  
"Canada is a country on another world entirely in another time entirely." I said.  
  
"So you are not of Middle-Earth." Arwen said, eyeing me. I shook my head.  
  
"Then what are you doing here?" Elrond asked.  
  
"Came looking for adventure? I dunno. I fell asleep at home, and woke up here." I said with a shrug, not really feeling up to explaining about the Tolkien's writing. I was warm, yes, but I was tired, my feet hurt from the barefoot trek through the forest, and I STILL hadn't been fed.  
  
"So you do not know how you came to be here?" Arwen asked, curious once more.  
  
"Well, I wished on a falling star to come here, but I've wished on a falling star for plenty of things to happen, and they haven't. So, no, not really." I replied with a shrug. "All I know for certain is that I'm in Rivendell, Middle-Earth, Bilbo's a fun hobbit, and I'm getting cold again." At this, Elrond and Arwen seemed to notice that I was not exactly dressed in normal clothes.  
  
"Well, we may do something about that after you answer one question for me." Elrond said.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"Are you loyal to Sauron or the free peoples?" Elrond asked, and his eyes seemed to bore into me as he waited for an answer.  
  
"Sauron's a yucky evil guy. So that would be a 'loyal to the free peoples'." I said, shifting uncomfortably under Elrond's gaze.  
  
"Very well." Elrond said. "Merenmir, go find a room and some clothes for our guest." Merenmir nodded, and curtseyed once before heading out. I bowed slightly, again, and followed her out. Once outside, Merenmir turned and eyed me.  
  
"You should have curtseyed." she said.  
  
"Don't know how." I said promptly. Merenmir gaped at me, and I shrugged. Then Merenmir shook her head, and started walking again. She led me back the way we'd come - at least, I thought it was. We went by Bilbo's door again, I know that much. She eventually stopped in front of a door and opened it. Inside was a cozy little room, with a bed, some chairs, a chest, and a small fire place. Other then that, there was a window on the other side of the room, looking out onto the houses courtyard, and that was it.  
  
"This will be your room." Merenmir said, motioning to the room. "We'll have to find some clothes to fit you, and get something for the fireplace, but it should do nicely."  
  
"Very nicely." I said, sitting on the bed.  
  
"Now then, how tall are you?" Ielenia asked.  
  
"Um...somewhere between 5 and 6 feet?" I replied helpfully. Merenmir sighed.  
  
"Stand up." she ordered, and I did so. She looked me up and down for a few moments.  
  
"Stay here, I'll be back." she said, and disappeared out through the door. I sat back down on the bed to wait, and what seemed like half an hour later, Merenmir came back with a pile of clothes, followed by another elf with an armful of wood for the fireplace. The other elf set the wood down by the fireplace, nodded at me, and left without saying a word. Merenmir, on the other hand, set down her pile of clothes and turned to me.  
  
"Stand up." she ordered again, and I complied. Then she began to pull dresses out of the pile of clothes and hold them up to me, occasionally asking me to slip one on over my clothes. She did this is silence, and I soon got incredibly bored. Finally, Merenmir nodded and folded all the dresses but one up again and piled them up again. She lifted them, and was about to leave, when I decided it was time to say something about my clothing preference.  
  
"I don't suppose it would be possible to get tunics and breeches to wear instead of dresses?" I asked, and Merenmir stopped and stared at me.  
  
"If that is what you want, of course." She said smoothly, recovering. "Though you should have at least one dress."  
  
"Of course." I said. Merenmir came back and retrieved the dress he'd left on my bed, folded it up, and headed out again. A few moments after she left, Bilbo appeared in the door.  
  
"Hallo, Erin!" he said cheerfully. "So this is where they've put you."  
  
"Yep." I said.  
  
"How did your meeting with Elrond go?" Bilbo asked, wandering around my room and looking at random things.  
  
"Oh, good I suppose." I said with a shrug.  
  
"Wonderful." Bilbo said, then tsked as he saw the fireplace. "No fire?"  
  
"Quite frankly, I haven't had the time to start one, and wouldn't know where to begin." I replied.  
  
"Well here, let me show you." said Bilbo, and the two of us set about building a fire. We had a good sized fire going by the time Merenmir came back with clothes for me.   
  
"These should be good." Merenmir said. "There's a blue dress on top here that I thought would look nice on you."  
  
"Ooo, blue." I said. "Best colour in the world."  
  
"I rather like green." Bilbo commented from his perch on one of the chairs.  
  
"To each their own." I said with a shrug as Merenmir opened the chest at the foot of the bed and put the pile of clothes in. Peering into the chest, she muttered to herself before getting up and leaving again. Bilbo and I, having a conversation about different colours and their advantages and disadvantages, barely noticed her leave. We did, however, notice when someone knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in?" I said, curious, and the door opened to reveal Arwen.  
  
"Merenmir said I would find you here, Bilbo." Arwen said with a smile. "Father wants to talk to you."  
  
"Oh, mustn't keep him waiting, then." Bilbo said, hopping off the chair. "I'll see you later then, Erin!" he said, waved, and went out. Arwen watched the door, amused, and grinned along with me as Bilbo suddenly appeared again.  
  
"Where did you say Elrond was again?" he asked.  
  
"In the chambers on the west side of the house." Arwen said, still grinning.  
  
"Right then." Bilbo said, and disappeared again.  
  
"Sorry to rob you of your company like that." Arwen said apologetically as she turned back to me.  
  
"Oh, it's no problem. I was thinking I should kick him out soon so I could get changed, anyways." I said, shrugging.  
  
"Well then I will leave and let you get changed before Merenmir comes back with the blankets." Arwen said, smiling.  
  
"Oh, that's what she went to get." I commented, half to myself. "Well, see you later, then." Arwen nodded, and left, closing the door behind her. I went over to the chest Merenmir had left open and rifled through it. There were several sets of clothing in there, and I pulled out a pair of tan breeches and a light green tunic. There was also a belt in the chest, and I quickly changed, mimicking how I'd seen the elves in Rivendell wearing the outfit. Merenmir came back a few moments after I'd finished, carrying a pile of blankets. She put these in the chest, then looked up at me and nodded approvingly.  
  
"Somehow they look good on you." Merenmir commented.  
  
"I'm built like a guy." I said with a shrug. "I've never looked all that good in women's clothes."  
  
"I am sure you have just not found your style." Merenmir said soothingly.  
  
"Oh, I've found my style. Breeches and tunics for me." I said, grinning.  
  
"What would you like done with your old clothes?" Merenmir asked, eyeing the clothes where they lay on a chair.  
  
"Can I keep 'em?" I asked, feeling suddenly possessive and slightly homesick, and Merenmir reluctantly nodded.  
  
"Of course." she said, and folded them neatly before adding them to the chest at the bottom of the bed. "Are you hungry?" she asked, turning to me.  
  
"YES." I said emphatically, and Merenmir hid a smile.  
  
"Let's go get you something to eat, then." she said, and I followed her out. We went down to the kitchens and found some food, then Merenmir excused herself and went off. I wandered around after that, getting myself thoroughly lost. Though, as usually happens when one gets oneself lost, I ended up someplace interesting - the little hall where the shards of Narsil were kept. The pieces of the sword were all messed up, and after looking around and becoming extremely bored, yet not wanting to wander off and get more lost, I set to figuring out how the shards went together. Merenmir found me a few hours later, after I'd sorted out the shards, once more bored out of my skull.  
  
"You've almost missed supper." she said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I got lost and figured it was better to stay in one place than wander around and get even more lost." I said, waving a hand through the air vaguely. Merenmir nodded in approval.  
  
"Very well. Now come, your presence will be expected at supper. Some important guests have arrived." she said.  
  
"Strider and the other three hobbits finally got here?" I asked nonchalantly, and Merenmir's eyes widened.  
  
"How did you know that?" she asked, her suspicious look from earlier in Bilbo's room returning.  
  
"My secret." I said, grinning mischievously. "Now, lead the way back to my room. I presume I'll be expected to wear a dress to supper." Merenmir eyed me, as if wondering whether or not to press the subject.  
  
"Yes, of course." Merenmir said, evidently deciding not to press the subject. Then she set off down the hallway she'd entered through, me following close behind. 


	3. Merry, Pippin and Aragorn

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Not mine, not claiming they're mine, except for Erin, so don't sue.  
  
~ Chapter III~  
  
~ Merry, Pippin and Aragorn~  
  
Supper was actually quite boring. I was sat at the far end of the tables and could only watch Aragorn, Sam, Merry and Pippin as they sat at the head table, talking to Elrond and Arwen. All the elves beside me seemed to have no problem hearing what they were talking about, however, and Merenmir didn't seem too eager to fill me in on what the new arrivals were talking about. She seemed content to listen, chat with her friends in Elvish, and either ignore me, or shoot thoughtful looks my way. Quite annoying.  
  
Eventually, the supper was finished, and I wandered out onto a nearby balcony. Merry and Pippin appeared a few moments later, chattering away happily.  
  
"Oh, hallo there." Pippin said after a few moments, just then noticing me.  
  
"Hello." I said, smiling slightly. One thing could be said for hobbits - I don't think anyone could keep a sour face around them for long. They were so damn cute with their big feet, abnormally curly hair, and innocent-looking faces.  
  
"Sorry if we disturbed you." Merry said apologetically.  
  
"I was just out here being bored, anyways." I said with a shrug.  
  
"Well then it's a good thing we came along." Pippin said, grinning mischievously, and I eyed him.  
  
"Yes, a good thing indeed, Pip." Merry chimed in.  
  
"What's your name?" Pippin asked, ignoring Merry.  
  
"Erin." I said.  
  
"You're not an elf?" Merry asked, cocking his head to one side.  
  
"Doesn't anybody look at peoples ears around here?" I asked, slightly annoyed. That was, what, the third time that comment had been made today?  
  
"Well Rivendell is an Elvish home, so one naturally excepts it's inhabitants to be Elvish." Pippin said practically.  
  
"You're currently an inhabitant of Rivendell, and you're not Elvish." I pointed out. "Neither is Bilbo, or Strider, for that matter."  
  
"She's got you there, Pip." Merry commented. Pippin rolled his eyes.  
  
"Fine then. Sorry." he said.  
  
"It's quite alright. I'm just bored, as I said, and I pick up any excuse to strike up a conversation." I said dryly.  
  
"Well, perhaps you'd like to do a little exploring with us, then, and we can have some conversation along the way?" Merry said.  
  
"Depends on how good your sense of direction is. I already went exploring once today and got lost. I'd rather not do it again." I said.  
  
"Oh, hobbits are famous for their sense of direction." Merry said.  
  
"At least among those who even know of hobbits." Pippen added. I eyed the two. Some nagging feeling told me they were lying. Oh well. Getting lost again wasn't all THAT horrible.  
  
"Alright, let's go exploring." I said, and Merry and Pippin gave a little cheer before picking a random direction and heading off that way. After a few moments, I realized that the hobbits hadn't told me their names, so I politely asked them about them, though I really didn't need to. Merry and Pippin were quite apologetic, and quickly supplied their full names before asking me to call them just 'Merry' and 'Pippin' or 'Pip'. I complied, and we continued along, going random directions and generally getting thoroughly lost until we noticed that it was starting to get dark.  
  
"Well this isn't looking good, Pip." Merry commented as we walked.  
  
"What isn't, Merry?" Pippin asked.  
  
"It's getting dark out, and we're lost. I don't want to be lost in the dark." Merry said.  
  
"We're not lost, I know exactly where we are." Pippin said confidently.  
  
"Oh? Where are we?" Merry asked.  
  
"Here." Pippin said with a mischievious smile.  
  
"Well that's helpful." Merry said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"It's the best I can give you. I know which way the supper room is from here, but it's too complicated to tell you." Pippin said, looking very much as if he was going to start scratching his head in slight confusion at any moment.  
  
"That's reassuring." I said dryly. We turned a corner, then, and I had to do a quick side-step to avoid somebody coming the other way. It was Aragorn.  
  
"There you are, little ones. I've been looking for you." Aragorn said.  
  
"We were exploring and got a little lost." Merry said, looking embarrassed.  
  
"But now you're here, and we shan't be lost anymore, I'm sure." Pippin said, grinning.  
  
"Always good to run into someone who knows their way around when you're lost." I said dryly.  
  
"You must be the Lady Erin that Lord Elrond spoke of." Aragorn said politely, nodding his head at me.  
  
"Whatever he said, unless it includes getting lost, I didn't do it." I said flatly. Aragorn chuckled.  
  
"He didn't say much, other then that a strange human named Lady Erin appeared in Rivendell." he said.  
  
"Actually, it's just Erin. I don't know where the Lady came from." I said, shrugging. Aragorn made a motion that could have been a shrug, then turned his attention back to the hobbits.  
  
"There are some rooms prepared for you, close to Frodo and Bilbo's." Aragorn said. "Come, I'll show you to them."  
  
"Mind if I tag along? My rooms are somewhere near there, too." I said.  
  
"Not at all, Lady Erin." Aragorn said. The Lady hadn't gone away, I noted as Merry, Pippin and I set off down the hallway, following Aragorn. I wondered why as we walked, but eventually gave up and tried to figure out where we were and remember how we got from there to Merry and Pippin's rooms. It turned out that Merry and Pippin were in adjoining rooms right next to Bilbo's. So I stayed and visited for awhile, as did Aragorn, but I was getting tired, it had been a long day, and eventually I had to say goodnight, asking Bilbo if he knew the way to my room.  
  
"Oh, it's down the hall and...actually, I can't really remember." Bilbo said with a frown.  
  
"Where does it's window look out on?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"The courtyard in the front of the house." I replied.  
  
"Ah, I'll show you, then." Aragorn said, and so we left the hobbits for the night. Aragorn, now not having to go slow so little hobbit legs could keep up, walked quickly to the right area for my rooms. I found mine quite soon after that, having remembered what the door looked like.  
  
"Thank you, Lord Aragorn." I said, and Aragorn nodded at me, though he looked surprised when I said his name. It was most likely at the title, actually - Bilbo had called him Aragorn once or twice, though Merry and Pippin had never really picked up on it.  
  
"Goodnight, Lady Erin." he said, and turned and left. I disappeared into my room and collapsed on the bed.  
  
"Spoken-for guys should not allowed to be that hot." I announced to the ceiling. "Oh well, Legolas will get here soon." I mumbled, then changed into my pajamas that I'd arrived in Rivendell in, not knowing if I had any nightclothes in the chest or what they were, and crawled into the bed and fell asleep. 


	4. Boromir, the Council of Elrond, and Afte

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Erin's mine. The rest are not.  
  
~ Chapter IV~  
  
~ Boromir, the Council of Elrond, and Aftermath ~  
  
The next day, Gandalf arrived in Rivendell. There was a great commotion, and Bilbo, Merry and Pippin made sure I got to meet him. He was a lot like he'd been in the movies and books, and I liked him instantly. For his part, Gandalf seemed to enjoy quizzing me up about where I'd come from, though I didn't mention anything about the Lord of the Rings books or movies to him. That would just be too confusing to explain, not to mention I didn't know what the repercusions might be for admitting I knew the future down to the words spoken at some points. Despite that, we had lots of long talks over the next three days as Frodo recovered. Elrond, for his part, seemed perfectly happy to let Gandalf deal with me.  
  
When I wasn't talking with Gandalf, I was usually with the hobbits, getting lost. We had great fun making a nuisance of ourselves, asking every Elf we saw where we were and how to get back to the eating hall from there. I think Merry was the only one who actually remembered any of the answers. I know it took Gandalf an entire evening to teach me how to get in-between my rooms, the hobbits rooms, his own room, and the dining hall without getting lost.  
  
It was on my fourth night in Rivendell that, as I was getting ready to go to bed, I looked out and saw Boromir ride up. He dismounted, and several Elves came up to greet him. He was just disappearing inside the main door, when he turned around, looked up, and saw me watching him. I ducked away from the window, blushing slightly. Spying on a Lord of Gondor? Not a good idea. Getting caught at it? Even worse idea.  
  
But I couldn't help anything, so I just snuffed out my lights and crawled into bed, instead of going off to pester Gandalf about the new arrival. When I woke up the next morning, Gandalf was at my door, knocking.  
  
"What?" I asked groggily through the door.  
  
"There is going to be a council this afternoon, and I would like you to come to it." Gandalf said back through the door. I nearly choked. Even half asleep, it didn't take a genius to realize what council he was talking about.  
  
"Have you asked Elrond about this?" I asked, getting over my surprise.  
  
"He will let you come." Gandalf replied, not really answering my question.  
  
"Fine then, come get me when it's going to start." I said.  
  
"Very well. Be ready." Gandalf said.  
  
"I take it you're implying I should wear a dress?" I asked dryly.  
  
"Yes." was Gandalf's reply, and then came the sound of him leaving. I stayed in bed for a few more moments, but discovered that being invited to the infamous Council of Elrond is not conductive to going to sleep. So I got up and dressed - in breeches and a tunic, I wasn't going to wear the dress for the entire day - and wandered off to find Pippin and Merry. They'd disappeared, however, and Frodo and Bilbo were busy talking, so I went back to my room after managing to get an elf to find me some food.  
  
Once in my room, I stared around, bored, for a moment, before hearing a horses whinny outside in the courtyard. I went over and looked out, and there in the courtyard, arriving, was the party of Elves from Mirkwood. Which meant - you guessed it - Legolas. This time I disappeared before the new arrivals saw me, but not before I had a good drool over Legolas. You think he looks good in the movie? Try seeing him in real life. Yummy.  
  
About a half an hour later, about the time I was slowly pulling my thoughts away from the Hotness That Is Legolas, the dwarves arrived. I watched them arrive, too, for the heck of it, and tried to guess who was Glóin, Gimli's father. Dwarves have this annoying tendency to look alike, however, and I still hadn't figured it out by the time the Dwarves had disappeared into the house.  
  
Around noon, right after I changed into my dress in preparation for the Council, Merry and Pippin showed up at my door, looking extraordinarily pleased with themselves. They promptly announced that they'd managed to find the kitchens. I laughed at that.  
  
"And I suppose you managed to stuff yourselves so full you won't be able to eat lunch?" I asked, amused, but Merry and Pippin's faces fell instead of brightening.  
  
"The Elves wouldn't let us eat anything." Merry said somberly.  
  
"Even though they were complaining about having to cook more food then normal." Pippin added.  
  
"Well, people have been arriving all morning." I said matter-of-factly. "Of course they'll be worried about not having the right amount of food prepared."  
  
"People have been arriving all morning, have they?" Merry asked, curious now. "What sorts of people?"  
  
"Oh, a party of Elves from Mirkwood, and some Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain." I answered dismissively. "And a Lord of Gondor arrived last night." Merry and Pippin's eyes widened and I listed each new arrival.  
  
"More Elves? And some Dwarves, like from Bilbo's stories?" Merry asked, delighted.  
  
"Several of the Dwarves that arrived were IN Bilbo's stories." I said with a smile. "But I'm sure you'll be able to talk to the Dwarves and Bilbo about it later. Right now, lunch is ready."  
  
"Right! To the dining hall, then!" Pippin said, looking determined, and we set off. We got there fairly quickly, and were some of the first to arrive. The very first, of course, were the Dwarves, who were already having some ale while talking quietly amongst themselves, staring about themselves at the Elves suspiciously. Several of the Dwarves looked up when we entered, and one or two instantly smiled when they saw the hobbits. Greetings ensued, and Merry and Pippin got to introduce themselves to some of the Dwarves that Bilbo had gone on his adventure with so many years ago. I hung back, letting the short people enjoy themselves without having a someone tall - relatively speaking, of course - looming over them.  
  
So I got to watch everyone else arrive in the dining hall. The Mirkwood Elf company was next to arrive, though sans Legolas, unfortunately. Frodo, Sam and Bilbo showed up a while later, and joined Merry and Pippin with the Dwarves. Then the Rivendell elves started to wander in, and after awhile, Boromir appeared, and then came Gandalf, Elrond, Arwen, Aragorn, and Legolas. Once they arrived, the food began to arrive, too, and lunch began. It was an easy lunch, but eventually, Elrond got up and left, and after awhile, so did Gandalf. After that, the various people who were going to the council got up and left, as well. Since Gandalf had asked me to come, I figured I'd better go, as well, and tagged along after the Dwarves as they went to the council.  
  
I met Gandalf coming to get me as I entered the area where the council was going to be, and I discovered that I was to have one of those seats that you could barely see in the background behind Elrond in the movie. I shrugged when Gandalf showed it to me. It was better then Sam, Merry and Pippin's spots, that was for sure.  
  
I thought the council was going to be exciting, but on the whole, for me, it was rather boring until the end. There was a great more talking then they showed in the movie, and more then I could remember reading in the book, and by the time they got to the interesting part at the end, with the Ring being shown and the Fellowship being chosen, I was bored out of my skull. Which was probably what prompted me to speak up just before Elrond announced the Fellowship.  
  
"Be aware that this is no easy quest you undertake. Most of you will not reach it's end." I said simply, my voice falling in the suddenly silent council. All heads snapped towards me. Elrond, already annoyed by Merry, Pippin and Sam appearing, seemed even more annoyed to find me there. It suddenly occurred to me that there might be a reason why Gandalf had seated me BEHIND Elrond. I mentally shrugged. He asked me to come, he could deal with me talking.  
  
"And how do you know this, Lady?" Boromir was the first to speak up.  
  
"My secret." I said flatly. With the way Elrond looked at me, I guessed Merenmir had told him about the time I'd used that line before. Gandalf looked at me thoughtfully.  
  
"Perhaps the Lady Erin would like to come along with us so she could give us more such wise advice." he said, and I opened my mouth to flat out refuse, but it suddenly occurred to me how boring it would be, just hanging around in Rivendell, waiting for the Fellowship to go do it's thing.  
  
"If you think I should, I will come." I said, nodding my head at Gandalf. Risking a glance at Elrond, I realized he looked about ready to explode. Boromir, for some reason, looked extremely happy that I was coming. Merry and Pippin did, too, but I knew their reason for it. Not knowing Boromir's reason just made me more edgier around him. I was already going to be edgy enough around him, since I knew he was going to die.  
  
"Then come and join us." Gandalf said, motioning to me, and I stood up and joined the nine already standing around Frodo.  
  
"Ten companions. So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." Elrond announced, looking resigned.  
  
"Great. Where are we going again?" Pippin asked, and I resisted the urge to start laughing as every just looked at him. The council slowly drifted away, then. A few of the people who had come with members of the newly formed Fellowship came over to talk to that member of the Fellowship, but eventually, it was just the Fellowship and Elrond. I stayed back and talked to Merry and Pippin while Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Elrond discussed our route. Boromir was off in his own little world, Frodo and Sam were sitting side by side, talking, and Gimli was busy eyeing Legolas suspiciously.  
  
Eventually, the discussion on our route ended. Gandalf immediately came over to me and said he'd like to talk to me alone. So I followed as he left the council area. He ended out leading me to his rooms, and we went in. He stirred up the fire and lit his pipe before speaking.  
  
"Elrond told me that you knew of Aragorn and the three hobbits arrival without being told." Gandalf's voice was quiet, and he didn't look at me, but I felt as if I was being interrogated none the less.  
  
"I saw them arrive in my explorations around the house." I said. I didn't want to lie to Gandalf, but I didn't exactly want to tell him I knew everything that was going to happen, either.  
  
"Indeed." Gandalf said, looking at me and raising an eyebrow. "Yet how could you have discovered that most of the Fellowship will not reach the end of their quest?" Silence reigned as I scrambled for an excuse. I came up with nothing but the truth.  
  
"This world, this quest, to it's bitter end, is all told in a book in my world." I said finally with a sigh.  
  
"Which you have read." Gandalf said thoughtfully.  
  
"Twice." I confirmed.  
  
"So you know the path this quest will take." Gandalf commented.  
  
"Down to the very words that will be spoken, at some points." I admitted. "Though that may change now that I'm officially in the Fellowship. Though not too much, I hope." I frowned slightly. "It really wasn't a good idea to ask me along, Gandalf. It changes the quest, might even cause it to fail. Besides that, I can't fight, and knowing how to fight will be a necessity on this trip."  
  
"If it was not a good idea, why then did you accept?" Gandalf asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You asked me to come." I said flatly, hoping Gandalf wouldn't catch my second lie to him.  
  
"Well. We cannot very well remove you from the Fellowship now. Merry and Pippin would not be pleased." Gandalf said. "But who knows. Perhaps your joining the Fellowship will help the quest along."  
  
"Perhaps." I said, shrugging.  
  
"Do tell me if the quest strays to far from what the books in your world say should be happening, though." Gandalf said.  
  
"Um..." I paused. "Can we tell Aragorn about this, too?" I asked, looking at the fire to avoid Gandalf's eyes.  
  
"If you think we should, yes. Though may I ask why?" Gandalf asked curiously.  
  
"Well...you're going to run into a troublesome little demon and have to leave the Fellowship for awhile." I replied, choosing my words carefully.  
  
"Ah." Gandalf said, and I was glad that he pressed it no further, though the tone of his voice indicated that he wanted to. So Gandalf went to his door and snagged a passing Elf and asked them to tell Aragorn to come see him. Gandalf and I talked while we waited for his message to reach Aragorn, considering how much to tell Aragorn, among other things, such as how I should let Gandalf know that something was not going right. Finally, there was a knock on the door. It was Aragorn. Gandalf invited him in, and pulled up another chair. Which I hadn't noticed was even in the room. It probably wasn't in the room before Aragorn showed up, either. We are talking about a wizard here.  
  
"Aragorn, there is something about the Lady Erin that you must know." Gandalf began. Aragorn, clearly curious, didn't comment, but simply listened as Gandalf explained that I was from another world, where the quest was a book which I had read, and therefore, that I knew how the quest would go.  
  
"This is all very interesting, and indeed handy to know, Gandalf, but, if I may ask, why are you telling me this?" Aragorn asked when Gandalf was finished.  
  
"Gandalf wants me to let him know when the quest goes too far off track from what the books in my world say it should be like. Thing is, Gandalf...well, he's not going to be with the Fellowship for the entire quest." I answered for Gandalf.  
  
"And I will?" Aragorn asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"I never said anything about you." I replied brightly. Aragorn shook his head slightly in amusement at my answer.  
  
"And how is the Lady Erin supposed to inform us that the quest is going astray from what she knows without the others of the Fellowship discovering where she comes from and what she knows?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"We will simply have to accept that whenever the Lady Erin asks to talk to us privately, there is certain need for it." Gandalf replied simply. Aragorn nodded, and we talked for a short while longer before Aragorn excused himself. A short while later, it was time for dinner. 


	5. Rivendell and Caradhas

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See last few chapters.  
  
~ Chapter V~  
  
~ Rivendell and Caradhas ~  
  
I don't think anyone who's watched the movie of the Fellowship of the Ring ever really grasped this concept, but I was sure made to - the Fellowship stayed in Rivendell an entire TWO MONTHS after being formed. I joined the Fellowship so I wouldn't be bored waiting around in Rivendell. Guess what I was doing now I was in the Fellowship? That's right, waiting around in Rivendell, bored.  
  
Oh, I had some great talks, got to know the other members of the Fellowship a little better. But really, it was nothing you didn't see in the movie. It's not like they were going to open up to me - I WAS of the opposite sex, after all. Though it did take the newly arrived - Boromir, Legolas and Gimli - awhile to get over the fact that I dressed in male Elven clothes. And after the initial adrenaline rush of deciding to go on this quest had worn off, some of the members of the Fellowship - even the hobbits for a bit - wondered at the wisdom of bringing me along. Especially after they found out I couldn't fight.  
  
But Gandalf quickly fixed that by convincing Aragorn and Boromir to teach me how to use a sword, and Legolas to teach me how to use a bow. I knew a little of archery, since I'd done some back home. And I was just as horrible at it in Middle-Earth with an Elven bow as I was at home with a mass-produced bow. Within a week, the archery lessons had been dropped. Legolas commented something to the effect of I being the one person he'd run into that he couldn't see a chance in hell of teaching how to shoot.  
  
The sword lessons went better, however. Boromir did most of the teaching, as Aragorn was usually off traipsing around with Arwen. Not that it was any problem. Boromir was a great teacher, and had incredible patience. Though he had a little trouble with my concept of 'if the sword doesn't work, kicking and punching will'. There was certainly great interest from the Elven healers as to how he'd managed to get a black eye while teaching me how to use a sword.  
  
"We leave in two days." Gandalf announced finally as he came into the courtyard. It was a generally boring afternoon, and the rest of the Fellowship - even Aragorn - had decided to come watch Boromir and I sword fighting. I was actually getting pretty good. I could 'kill' him once or twice, now - after he started to tire. Currently, though, I had just been finished being 'killed' when Gandalf made his announcement.  
  
"Finally." I said from the ground.  
  
"It is strange that you seem so eager to rush on a quest of such great danger." Boromir remarked as he helped me up.  
  
"There's only one thing more dangerous then danger - boredom." I replied matter-of-factly.  
  
"You will not be bored anymore, Lady Erin." Gandalf said gravely. "As of now, the preparations for the journey begin. It will be long, so we have much to prepare."  
  
The next two days were the most hectic I've ever lived through. Everyone was doing five things at once, and forgetting two other things. Honestly, I couldn't figure out why Gandalf hadn't set us to preparing for the journey earlier. But eventually, the day for the Fellowship to set out had come. There wasn't a big teary goodbye or anything - Elrond just said goodbye to us, Arwen said goodbye to Aragorn, and we left. The Elves we passed almost ignored us as we went past.  
  
"Why the heck aren't we riding?" I mumbled to myself a day later, scrambling up another steep incline. I was near the back of the line of climbers - right in front of Boromir, who was at the back, to be exact.  
  
"We could not get ponies for the hobbits, and the horses would not be able to go where we are going." Aragorn's reply came from ahead of me, and I glared at his back. I swear, he'd picked up Elven hearing, hanging around Arwen so long. He was always hearing things that had been said so quietly that other humans closer to whoever had said it hadn't heard it.  
  
"Well, couldn't we have at least started out with some, and then let them loose, later?" I asked.  
  
"We have Bill." was Aragorn's reply.  
  
"If you are tired, I'm sure Gandalf will stop for a rest." Boromir said helpfully from behind.  
  
"Me? Tired? Never. I'm the Energizer Bunnies cousin." I replied sarcastically. Sarcasm always confused anyone in Middle-Earth, especially when combined with references to home, so that effectively killed the conversation.  
  
The next two weeks were much the same, with us walking, and being bored. Boromir decided to help the hobbits learn how to use their swords a few days in, and Aragorn decided to take over teaching me how to fight. He, being a ranger, fought very differently then Boromir, and had no problem getting used to my unique 'sword, fist and boot' fighting style, as Boromir called it.  
  
I'd just finished practicing with Aragorn, and Boromir had started a lesson with Merry and Pippin, when a familiar scene began. Watching, I saw Boromir accidentally nick Pippin with his sword. Pippin, incensed, resorted to my fighting method and gave Boromir a solid kick in the shin. No sooner had that happened then Legolas ran off to the side of our camp site, looking out on the horizon, interupting an argument Gimli and Gandalf seemed to be having. Casually, I grabbed my backpack and moved it over to a bush, then stayed nearby as the scene unfolded.  
  
I was already hidden by the time Aragorn told everyone to hide. I stayed hidden and watched as the birds flew around us. It seemed like there was no end to them, but finally, they were gone.  
  
"The spies of Saruman. Our passage south is being watched." Gandalf said once the birds were gone and we began to creep out of hiding again. "We must take the pass of Caradhas." Out of Gandalf's sight, I made a face, and Boromir, the only one to see it, smiled, amused. The Fellowship had already learned I didn't like cold, and that was probably the reason Boromir thought I was making a face. But I didn't object openly. After all, we had to go there. So we went off to Caradhas.  
  
It turned out that I was standing behind Frodo when he took his tumble down the mountain, and thus was the one to catch him.  
  
"You OK, Frodo?" I asked, setting the hobbit on his feet. In response, Frodo felt at his neck and started looking about franticly.  
  
"The ring!" he said to me. "The chain I had it on - it fell off!" I glanced up the mountain just as Boromir turned to see what was the matter. Frodo, seeing the ring a few feet from Boromir, scrambled up and picked it back up before Boromir even noticed it was there. Frodo glanced at Boromir, then started trudging up the mountain again. Boromir shrugged, having no clue what had just gone on, and continued after the hobbit just as Aragorn came up beside me.  
  
"Is there a reason you have stopped?" Aragorn asked me, when he saw I wasn't moving.  
  
"Yes, my feet have frozen to the ground." I said cheerfully, and proceeded to run up to the front of the line of the Fellowship as it trudged along so I could talk to Merry and Pippin. Boromir not picking up the ring worried me, but he hadn't in the book, so I didn't bother telling Gandalf. As I walked beside Merry and Pippin and talked to them, the path gradually narrowed, and soon there was only room for single-file. The snow gradually got deeper, and Aragorn finally suggested that they carry the hobbits. The hobbits decided this would be a very good idea indeed, and Aragorn scooped up Sam and Frodo, leaving Merry and Pippin to Boromir. Legolas, to everybody's annoyance, was nancing about on top of the snow. I'm not joking when I said everybody. I caught Gandalf shooting evil looks at the Elf prince one time as he ran by the wizard.  
  
"Stay close to the cliff face." I warned the Fellowship during one of out brief rests. "You never know when an avalanche will happen." A few of the members of the Fellowship nodded, and then Gandalf announced our rest was at an end, and we all dragged ourselves to our feet so we could continue. I, however, was beginning to lag horribly. It was extremely cold, and I couldn't feel my toes, fingers, or the lower halves of my legs and arms. Elven clothes are nice, but they're not exactly warm. Which made me extremely happy, if surprised, when a large cloak suddenly dropped around my shoulders during our next stop. I looked up to find Boromir, missing his big warm cloak.  
  
"You looked cold." he said with a half smile.  
  
"I was." I answered. "But won't you be cold without it?"  
  
"My clothes were made for winter traveling. Elven clothes, however comfortable, are never made for winter traveling." Boromir replied.  
  
"They have never had the need to be." Legolas commented from a few feet away.  
  
"Somebody should make some, anyways." I said emphatically, which got a chuckle from several members of the Fellowship.  
  
"You shall have to bring it up with the Elven tailors once our quest is done." Gandalf said. "For now, we must continue." Everybody groaned, but we readied ourselves, and Boromir and Aragorn picked up the hobbits again, and we set off. Boromir's cloak was really quite warm, and by the time we reached the dead end, only my toes were cold. Then Legolas nanced by, and yelled something about 'on the air'. Which, besides making me giggle, caused me to immediately squish myself against the cliff face. Snow fell, Gandalf had his little long-distance battle with Saruman, then LOTS of snow fell.  
  
Ever been in an avalanche before? No? Well, imagine someone dumping a large pile of blankets on you, covering all of you. Now take away the warmth and the oxygen. That's what it was like. So, understandably, I got just a little frantic while digging myself out.  
  
"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir called. "Make for the Gap of Rohan! Or take the west road to my city!" Aragorn countered that the Gap of Rohan was too close to Isengard, Gimli put in his opinion, and finally Gandalf told Frodo to decide.  
  
"We will go through the mines." Frodo said, and I flopped my head into my hands and made a face. I would've been worried if Frodo HADN'T chosen Moria, but I still wasn't liking the idea of going through the mines. It would be my first real taste of the danger that would prove to be so abundant on the quest.  
  
"So be it." came Gandalf's response to Frodo's decision, and we set about digging ourselves out of the snow. 


	6. Moria

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Erin = mine, everybody else = not mine (puns having to do with where the Fellowship is currently travelling through intended)  
  
~ Chapter VI~  
  
~ Moria ~  
  
It only took us a day to get to the gates of Moria, and by the time we'd reached the gates, it had gotten warm enough that I could give Boromir his cloak back.  
  
"You may keep it." Boromir said with a smile as I held out his cloak to him while we sat, waiting for Gandalf to figure out the gates password.  
  
"OK then..." I said, then hesitated and eyed Boromir for a moment before tromping over to where Merry and Pippin were throwing rocks in the water. Aragorn eventually stopped them, and then Frodo figured out the doors. Sighing, I got up and headed into the mines with the rest of the Fellowship, sticking close to the hobbits, at the back, and keeping my hand on my sword, ready for what was going to come.  
  
"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here! Now get out of here! Get out!!" Boromir yelled, and the hobbits began to back up nervously. I drew my sword and cut the tentacle off before it reached Frodo's leg.  
  
"I don't think that's going to be possible." I commented, and on cue, half a dozen tentacles launched out of the water at Frodo. I, being the closest, hacked at all the tentacles I could, but Frodo still got dragged out over the water.  
  
"Soon as the creature shows it's head, shoot for the eye." I said to Legolas as Boromir and Aragorn plunged into the water to rescue Frodo. I wasn't too worried about affecting this battle - it didn't have a large roll in the scheme of things, as long as the creature brought down the doors behind us, the story would go on as normal. Boromir, Aragorn and I cut up the creature pretty bad before we finally got Frodo free, and then the creatures head showed, and Legolas shot at it's eyes. We plunged back into the mine as the creature once more reached out for the ring bearer, and we scrambled to get inside and away from the collapsing stone as the creature ripped through the walls. I tripped over some stone partway, but Boromir grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Finally, the rocks settled, and silence fell around the Fellowship.  
  
"We now have but one choice." Gandalf's voice came in the dark, and the crystal he'd just put on the end of his staff began to glow. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world. Quietly now. It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed." I resisted the urge to snort and make a sarcastic comment about how likely that was. Instead, I hiked my backpack higher on my back, and followed as Gandalf set off, staying close to the hobbits, who were clearly scared.  
  
We walked - no, trudged - through the mines for three days after that. Frodo, after discovering Gollum was following us during Gandalf's memory lapse, became increasingly scared. Merry, Pippin and Sam tried to cheer him up and encourage him, but it didn't work. If I could have thought of something comforting to say, I would have. But I couldn't very well say everything was going to be fine. After all, Gandalf's battle with the Balrog was not exactly everything going 'fine'.  
  
Eventually, however, we reached the dwarves great hall, and as Gandalf increased the light from his staff, I had to gape in amazement. The hall was HUGE. The pillars reached higher then some sky scrapers I'd seen at home, and were thick enough that they could have contained houses! I was so busy gaping, I completely missed Gandalf's explanation of where we were, and only caught the 'and no mistake' on the end of what Sam said. After we'd all recovered, we walked on, until Gimli spotted the door off to the side and ran off towards it. I shook my head and sighed, then followed him, at a slower pace. Now the chaos would begin.  
  
I reached the room just as Gandalf began the translation of the inscription on Balin's tomb, then resignedly walked towards the back of the room and half-listened as Gandalf read from the book by the tomb. Then Pippin, being a normal, curious little hobbit, decided to take a look at an Orc arrow stuck into a dwarven skeleton on the edge of a well, and the skeleton went crashing down the well, accompanied by a bucket and chain. The Fellowship stood, silent, listening to the noise, and waiting for an answering one from the orcs, but none came immediately.  
  
"Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!" Gandalf exclaimed, snatching his hat and staff back from the hobbit. Then the drums began. The Fellowship all went rigid with horror for a moment, including me. The drums WERE incredibly freaky when you were actually IN the mine, hearing them and knowing what was coming. Then Frodo discovered Sting was glowing.  
  
"Orcs!" Legolas spat, and Boromir ran to the door to see.  
  
"Watch out for archers!" I warned Boromir, and he yanked his head back just before two arrows THUNKed into the door where his head had been.  
  
"Get back! Stay close to Gandalf and Lady Erin!" Aragorn told the hobbits over his shoulder, and Merry and Pippin immediately grouped around me, while Frodo and Sam stuck close to Gandalf. I was rather flattered that Aragorn had told the hobbits to stay close to me, but didn't think much on it, instead preparing myself as Legolas, Aragorn and Boromir barred the doors, Boromir quite disgusted to find out the Orcs had a cave troll. Gimli jumped up on his tomb and said his little line inviting the orcs to come and face the one dwarf left in Moria.  
  
Then the Orcs came.   
  
No book, or movie, will ever be truly able to capture the stink, sound, and general chaos and unpleasantness of a battle with Orcs - or a battle in general. There were sickening squelches as blades and arrows sunk into flesh, followed by the nauseating smell of blood, and then the floors slowly developed a coat of slick blood. There were the looks in the Orcs eyes as they attacked, savage and ruthless, and then the dullness in their eyes as their lives were snuffed out.  
  
All in all, it was not a very enjoyable experience, and I've since blocked most of it out. The next thing I recall was the cave troll thrusting the spear it had snagged from Aragorn at Frodo. I realized I was panting, and leaned back against the wall as Merry and Pippin attacked the troll before Legolas finished it off. While the others dreaded the worst as Aragorn and Sam crawled over to Frodo to check on him, I cleaned off my sword and sheathed it, moving as little as possible, preparing for the run ahead.  
  
Gandalf glanced at me once, when Frodo's mithril shirt was discovered, and didn't seem surprised that I was not paying attention to the scene at all. Then the sound of more orcs caught his, and everyone else's, ears.  
  
"To the bridge of Khazad-dûm!" Gandalf called, and we set off at a run. We ran as fast as we could, and I was soon out of breath, but the Orcs still surrounded us. We stopped, a sea of Orcs surrounding us, and there was a moment of silence.  
  
"Enter one troublesome little demon." I said softly to Gandalf, and he glanced sideways at me, an alarmed look on his face, before the red glow of the Balrog began on the walls. The Orcs ran, and I very much wanted to follow them as the Balrog came closer.  
  
"What is this new devilry?" Boromir demanded.  
  
"A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" Gandalf exclaimed, shooting an evil look at me, clearly annoyed that I'd called a Balrog a 'troublesome LITTLE demon', but I ignored it and simply ran, faster then I had to get away from the Orcs. I was careful not to pass Boromir, however, and let him almost tumble into the gap before Legolas saved him, with me already taking the side stairs. Behind me, I vaguely heard Gandalf telling Aragorn to lead everyone on, preparing to leave the fellowship as I had told him he would.  
  
When we came to the gap in the stairs, I didn't even pause, but leaped right over, and Legolas landed right behind me. Everyone else, however, stopped, thus losing their momentum and any chance of getting across unassisted.  
  
"Gandalf!" Legolas called across the gap, and motioned for Gandalf to jump. Gandalf did, and Legolas caught him. That encouraged the others, and one by one they jumped - or were tossed - across, caught by either me or Legolas, until more of the stair collapsed, and only Aragorn and Frodo were left on the other side. More rocks fell as the Balrog came closer, and a large piece crashed through the stairs above Aragorn and Frodo, and then the entire piece of stair the ranger and hobbit were on began to lean every which-way.  
  
It took Aragorn only a few moments to figure out that the stair was in a state were it would go in the direction he and Frodo leaned in, and he told Frodo to lean forward, even though it rubbed against that general feeling of a need to survive that we all have. The piece of stair fell forward, and Aragorn and Frodo leapt off it before it fell off to the side and down. We watched for only a few seconds, then set off at a run again as more stones from the Balrogs passage came falling down.  
  
We reached the bridge, and I faltered as I saw it. I am absolutely terrified of heights greater then 10 feet, and this bridge just HAD to be three feet across as well as being over a bottomless - at least as far as I could see - pit.  
  
"Come, Lady Erin! There are worse things behind then ahead!" Boromir encouraged me as I slowed.  
  
"I beg to differ." I mumbled, but sped up again and crossed the bridge. On the other side, I stopped and turned to watch as Gandalf stood in the middle of the bridge, stopping the Balrog. He had his brief prologue of a battle with the Balrog, then sighed and turned. He glanced towards me, and seemed about to say something, when the whip of the Balrog caught his ankle and pulled him over. He grabbed the bridge, but could not hold on, and then Orcs were shooting too many arrows for any of us in the Fellowship to go help him up.  
  
"Flee, you fools!" Gandalf said, and then fell.  
  
"NO!!!" Frodo called after Gandalf, but Boromir held him back from running onto the bridge. Aragorn was stiff with horror as Boromir hauled Frodo off, and I realized he wasn't going to come back and call Aragorn, knowing I was there.  
  
"Aragorn!" I called, and Aragorn turned, a dazed look on his face. "We have to get out!" I turned, and Aragorn quickly followed me. We ran, following the brief glimpses we caught of the rest of the Fellowship ahead of us, until finally we came bursting out into the sunlight. The Fellowship stood or sat about in various states of grief, and I simply stood back and let them grieve, feeling extremely sympathetic for them. It was a good thing Gandalf wasn't actually dead and would be coming back. Then I spotted Aragorn storming towards me.  
  
"Oh crap." I muttered, and glanced towards Legolas, but he seemed to wrapped up in grief to be paying attention to what was going on. No one else was within hearing range. Well, as long as Aragorn didn't shout, there was no one within hearing range. "Here we go."  
  
"You knew this would happen?" Aragorn hissed angrily at me, stopping a few feet away from me.  
  
"Yes." I replied smoothly.  
  
"Why didn't you warn him?" Aragorn demanded.  
  
"It would have changed the way things are to be played out." I replied calmly.  
  
"So you'd rather let Gandalf DIE then change the events from what happened in this book in your world?" Aragorn spat.  
  
"I would never let Gandalf die." I replied quietly, and turned and walked off. Aragorn could chew on that while I went and stopped Frodo from wandering off, which he was currently doing, being almost out of sight behind a big boulder. I rested a hand on the hobbits shoulder to stop him, and he looked up at me, tears welling in his eyes, sadness written on his every feature. I was once again struck by how much like children hobbits are, and crouched down and hugged Frodo. He hesitated for a moment, then collapsed into my arms and began sobbing.  
  
Then Aragorn, who had either figured out my remark by now, or had decided to give up on it for now, called to get the hobbits up, and Frodo drew back and straightened, rubbing the tears from his eyes, walking back to the others with me as Boromir protested.  
  
"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs. We must reach the woods of Lothlorien." Aragorn countered, then once more told the taller members of the Fellowship to get the hobbits up. Frodo went and encouraged Sam to get up, and the simple thought of Frodo encouraging anyone got Sam up and determined to go on quickly enough.  
  
So we set off for Lothlorien at a brisk pace. After making the rounds and comforting everyone about Gandalfs 'death', I fell to the back of the line and began my normal complaining about walking instead of riding, which brought a few smiles to the others, and that made the walk more bearable as we went. 


	7. To Lothlorien and Snoring

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chapters. My mind is currently to lazy to think up a new one for this chapter.  
  
~ Chapter VII~   
  
~ To Lothlorien and Snoring ~  
  
We walked non-stop until late the next evening, hiding as best we could from the Orcs, eating as we went, and the taller ones carrying the hobbits when they got too tired to go on. For my part, my complaints had gone from an attempt to cheer everyone up to sincere. I could stay up 36 hours straight if I really wanted too, and had a good pound worth of sugar to help, but this walking very fast on very little food was not working. Boromir at one point offered to carry me, too, late in the night when I was looking extremely tired, but I knew I'd fall asleep the instant I stopped moving, so I refused. It didn't occur to me until later what an odd offer that was. It wouldn't be something common for someone in my world to offer, let alone someone in this world. But I was way too tired to think about it, and forgot about it as we headed on.  
  
Finally, in the middle of the afternoon on the second day, we reached Lothlorien. Entering the forest, I suddenly felt refreshed, and the rest of the members of the Fellowship perked up, as well, though all for different reasons. I walked close to Merry and Pippin, now, near the middle of the group that was the Fellowship, and listened with amusement as Gimli warned the hobbits about Galadriel, then boasted about not being ensnared so easily. Then Haldir and the other elves popped up.  
  
"The Dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark." Haldir commented smugly.  
  
"Haldir o Lórien. Henio aníron, boe ammen i dulu lîn. Boe ammen veriad lîn." Aragorn spoke up, stepping forward before Gimli could speak. Gimli spoke up, anyways, saying we should turn back.  
  
"You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood. You cannot go back. Come. She is waiting." Haldir replied crisply, and he turned and headed off. We followed. Not like we had any choice, with all those Elves with bows and knives around us. We were lead through the forest, all of us except perhaps Aragorn giving up on remembering the way out after awhile, and finally we reached what amounted to an Elven city. We were led up into a tree, and I hugged the trunk and determinedly did not look down. A few of the elves in our escort noticed, and I swear I saw them snigger. I just kept going, and finally, we reached the top and entered into a reception area. Then, backlit with a light so bright it hurt my eyes, Celeborn and Galadriel appeared. When the light died down, Celeborn spoke.  
  
"Nine that there are here, yet ten there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him." he said, after doing a head count.  
  
"He has fallen into Shadow." Galadriel answered her husband as she looked at Aragorn, then she looked over us all. "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail to the ruin of all." she added, and she looked at Boromir. Boromir, strangely, looked back without showing the least bit of nervousness, and a brief look of worry crossed Galadriel's face, mirrored by one on my own. Then Galadriel continued with her obscure advice, and told us to go rest. But as I left, Haldir snagged my arm.  
  
"The Lady wishes to speak with you alone." he said.  
  
"Lady Erin?" Boromir called up to me, turning and seeing that I wasn't following.  
  
"I'll be down in a bit, Boromir." I said, and Haldir nodded before leading me off yet FARTHER up the tree. We came to another platform, and I stepped onto it to find Galadriel already waiting. As Haldir bowed to the queen and left, I absently wondered if she'd used magic to get here ahead of Haldir and I, or if there was a rope ladder hidden somewhere.  
  
"Lady Erin." Galadriel said thoughtfully once Haldir was gone. "I have heard many things about you, from Gandalf and Elrond both."  
  
"I didn't do anything." I said dryly. It figured they'd tell Galadriel, though.  
  
"Oh?" Galadriel asked, arching an eyebrow elegantly at me. "Haven't you?" I looked at the Elf Queen strangely.  
  
"Well, I've killed quite a few Orcs." I said.  
  
"That is not what you have done that matters." Galadriel said, looking troubled.  
  
"Then what have I done?" I asked.  
  
"You have joined the Fellowship when you should not have." Galadriel said.  
  
"Gandalf invited me." I said defensively.  
  
"You should have refused." Galadriel said sternly. "You know this." I hesitated, then nodded. It was true, it had crossed my mind that my mere presence in the Fellowship would change things, but I had not thought it would make much difference. "And yet you still accepted." I shrugged.  
  
"Elves are nice, seeing Middle-Earth is better." I said.  
  
"This is no sightseeing trip you have undertaken! You should not treat this so lightly, Erin Cassidy Hean!" Galadriel warned sternly, and I blinked. How the hell did she know my full name? I hadn't told ANYONE any more then my first name. Then I mentally shrugged. She was a super-powerful Elf Queen with a ring of power who could read minds. Why SHOULDN'T she know my full name?  
  
"Fine then, tell me what has changed and I will do my best to see that it is fixed." I said calmly.  
  
"Boromir is not as strongly tempted by the ring as he should be." Galadriel replied, calm and serene once more. I blinked.  
  
"Oooooh shitake mushrooms." I said, eyes widening as the consequences of Boromir not being tempted by the ring sunk in. "That's definitely a problem."  
  
"Yes. One I may do nothing about. It is up to you, Lady Erin, to make sure events go as they should!" Galadriel informed me.  
  
"Great. So I get to convince Boromir to try and take the ring from Frodo and then get himself killed." I grumbled sourly, and Galadriel looked at me in surprise before recovering.  
  
"If that be the path that must be taken to keep the quest on its course, so be it." she said evenly. I sighed.  
  
"I'll do my best." I said.  
  
"I have faith that you will." Galadriel replied softly, and then Haldir appeared again, and I followed him off to where the rest of the Fellowship was already waiting. Sure enough, as we rested that night, I noticed that Boromir did not seem troubled in the least at being in Lothlorien, like he should have been. In fact, he was the first of us to fall asleep.  
  
Did I mention Boromir snores? He doesn't sound normal when he does it, either...Legolas had to end out doing something to stop Boromir from snoring, though, as the Lorien Elves were starting to look pissed. We all laughed quietly about that for awhile, and then the lament for Gandalf began.  
  
Elven music is hauntingly beautiful normally, and conveys such emotion when sung in the smooth and flowing Elven language it was written in. I've never been much moved by death - it never really hits me that the person is dead and gone, I guess - and besides that, Gandalf wasn't dead. Well, if he was, he wasn't staying dead for long. But this Elven lament made even me sadden, and it was all I could do to comfort Pippin as he blamed himself for Gandalf's fall.  
  
It seemed that I, however, was to be the one that could not get any sleep in Lorien, instead of Boromir. What Galadriel had told me was troubling, and I didn't know how I could fix what my mere presence had changed, without knowing more about why Boromir wasn't as tempted by the ring as he should be. I sat by the hobbits until they all fell asleep, then wandered off. After awhile, the houses of the Elves, high in the trees, disappeared from sight, and I came upon a stream. I sat down next to it, then, and stared into the water as I thought about how I could put the quest back on its proper course.  
  
I guess I fell asleep there, though I don't remember it. But next thing I knew, it was beginning to get light again, so I stood and headed back the way I'd come, hoping I didn't end out missing the Elves homes entirely. I hadn't gone too far, however, and soon the Elves tree homes were in sight. I wandered around for a good hour until I found the rest of the Fellowship, already up and eating.  
  
"Ah, Lady Erin. We were just considering going out to look for you." Gimli greeted me as I walked up.  
  
"I took a walk." I said with a shrug.  
  
"A rather long walk." Aragorn commented. "You left last night."  
  
"Ok, I took a walk and had a nap." I said, rolling my eyes.  
  
"You will have plenty of time for more such walks." Legolas said. "We will be staying in Lothlorien for awhile to rest."  
  
"Goody." I said, then grabbed a fruit from the collection of food and chomped into it. A few members of the Fellowship arched an eyebrow at my response. They had clearly expected me to make a comment about becoming bored. But the longer I had, the more chance that I'd be able to discover why the ring wasn't tempting Boromir - I hoped to god that it wasn't because the ring was tempting someone else - and fix it.  
  
We finished breakfast in silence, and then Merry and Pippin announced that they were going to go exploring, and I went off with them. We were lost by noon hour, and the hobbits stomachs were grumbling, so we had to ask a passing elf how to get back to...where ever we were camped. The elf was amused when he realized we didn't know exactly where we were staying, other then within a five minute walk from Galadriel and Celeborn's tree. He managed to get us back there, however. Reaching the place, we thanked the elf, and he went off, and we inspected the site to discover that only Boromir was there.  
  
"Gimli and Legolas went for a walk, as did Aragorn, as well as Frodo and Sam." Boromir explained when we asked him where everyone else was.  
  
"Does everyone go for walks here?" I asked, amused.  
  
"Apparently." Boromir replied with a shrug.  
  
"Well, let's do something different then." I said cheerfully. "I don't think we've had a sword lesson since before Caradhas."  
  
"We would have to find some place away from the Elven houses. I wouldn't want to disturb the peace of the Elves." Boromir said, and I couldn't help but snigger.  
  
"You've already done that." Merry said, and he and Pippin started giggling uncontrollably.  
  
"I have?" he asked, alarmed, glancing between the hobbits and I.  
  
"You snore." I replied, grinning wickedly, and a look of absolute horror crossed Boromir's face.  
  
"Not to worry, Boromir. I think the Elves were more amused then annoyed." Pippin said assuringly, getting over his giggles.  
  
"At least Galadriel and Celeborn didn't hear." I commented dryly. Boromir seemed to find the idea of snoring so loudly Galadriel and Celeborn could hear even more horrifying, and his eyes widened. Well, I guess this fun had gone on long enough.  
  
"It's nothing to worry about, Boromir. It was a small occurrence, and I'm sure the majority of Elves have already forgotten about it." I said soothingly, and Boromir seemed to relax. Then Merry's stomach growled, and we all looked at him as he grinned sheepishly before laughing and setting about making some lunch. Once we were done, we grabbed our swords and wandered off away from the Elves houses. Eventually, we figured we were far enough away, and set about practicing with our swords.  
  
Somehow, Legolas and Gimli found us after awhile, and they got together with Boromir and decided to teach me how to deal with three attackers at once. WITHOUT informing me. Merry and Pippin were laughing their heads off as I took one look at the elf, dwarf and human and ran out the first opening I saw. Tossing my sword on the ground, I found a likely tree and scrambled up it. Gimli started laughing, And soon Boromir and Legolas joined him as I made a face at them.  
  
"Well, now we've driven the student up a tree." Boromir said after awhile, a grin still on his face. "What shall we do?"  
  
"We can teach her how to fight armed opponents on the ground from a tree unarmed." Legolas replied, grinning.  
  
"That's not even possible." I protested.  
  
"Oh? Isn't it?" Legolas said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No, it's not." I said emphatically.  
  
"It is." Legolas countered.  
  
"Show me." I said. Legolas eyed me, then sheathed his knives and jumped smoothly up into a nearby tree.  
  
"Very well. Get down and get your sword, and I will show you, Boromir and Gimli how one fights armed opponents from a tree when unarmed." Legolas said. I hesitated, wondering if the elf was using this as a way to get me down from the tree, but shrugged and jumped down. I grabbed my sword, and Legolas gave a count before proving to Boromir, Gimli and I that fighting armed opponents from a tree while unarmed was not only entirely possible, but extremely quick and easy, especially when one's an elf.  
  
When we got back to the site where we were staying, Aragorn, Frodo and Sam didn't even ask why Gimli, Boromir and I had headaches, Merry and Pippin couldn't stop laughing, and Legolas looked extremely smug. They just shook their heads and offered us some supper. 


	8. Amon Hen

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chappys.  
  
~ Chapter VIII~  
  
~ Amon Hen ~  
  
We stayed in Lothlorien for a good month, resting. I hung around Boromir a lot, talking to him, trying to figure out why he wasn't as tempted by the ring as he should be. But I couldn't figure it out. It just seemed like my presence there had just made him stop being tempted by the ring or something. Really odd, and confusing.  
  
Eventually, it came time to leave Lothlorien. Galadriel and Celeborn came to see us off, and I watched as Galadriel gave each of the Fellowship their gifts. Then, to my surprise, she turned to me and gave me an Elven sword.  
  
"Thanks. A lot." I said, so surprised I couldn't think of anything else to say.  
  
"May it aide you in your travels." Galadriel said with a sad smile, and it suddenly occurred to me WHY she was giving me a sword. That made the shocked smile freeze on my face. If she expected me to - I stopped that line of thinking. Galadriel was a powerful sorceress, after all, and according to the book and movie, she could read minds. So I just kept my mind blank and sat in the boat with Gimli and Legolas and let Legolas paddle out of Lothlorien.  
  
We spent ten days in those boats, paddling down the river, going onto shore only at night to rest. Eventually, however, the walls became too steep, Aragorn became cautious of Orcs, and we even spent the nights in the boats. My legs began to cramp, and what with Legolas and Gimli completely intent on forging their friendship, I soon became incredibly bored. My boredom was relieved, however, when we passed the large Argonath statues on the tenth day, and man - those things are huge. You can barely get a sense of how large they are in the movies. They're absolutely HUGE. As in, CN Tower huge! I gaped at the statues when I saw them, as did everyone else.  
  
Then we were pulling up by Amon Hen to wait for darkness so we could cross to the eastern shore. We half set up camp, and Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli had their little disagreement about what we were doing and where we were going next. That was when I became aware that things were slightly different. Frodo had already disapeared, but Boromir, being there instead of off chasing after Frodo, put in his two cents about our route - supporting Aragorn, to my surprise. Somehow, the two had managed to sort out their differences without Boromir's anguish over the ring. I shrugged, then turned to watch the trees, wondering when I'd see the Orcs come exploding out of them, or when someone would notice Frodo was gone. No one seemed to notice Frodo's disapearance, though, and the voices behind me died down eventually. After a short silence that was only interupted by the crackling of our camp fire, Boromir came up beside me.  
  
"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked almost immediately, and I blinked at him in surprise. We all knew we were in great danger of being attacked by Orcs, and Boromir wasn't one to put himself in needless danger. Yet here he was, wanting to go for a walk in possibly Orc infested woods.  
  
"Sure." I said, my curiosity piqued, and before anyone could stop us, we disappeared off into the trees. We were silent as we walked, something else unusual. Usually any walk I was on ended out in loud laughter before long. But I was quiet, since I knew Orcs were near, and Boromir did not seem inclined to speak for the longest time. But finally, he did.  
  
"Lady Erin, there has been something I have been meaning to tell you." he paused and did not continue for a short while, and I looked at him curiously, but he was frowning, eyes unfocused, obviously trying to think how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I remember the first time I saw you, the night I arrived in Rivendell. You were watching me, from your window. There was a light behind you, and it seemed to me that you glowed. I could not see much of you, but none the less, I could not stop thinking about you that night. I thought that for sure I had been bewitched by an Elven Princess, doomed to pine after her while she dismissed me as a mere mortal. So my heart soared with joy when I discovered that this Elven Princess was actually a human Lady, and not so high above me as I'd thought, except in beauty." He paused once more, then stopped and turned to me. "Lady Erin, that night in Rivendell, when I first saw you, my heart was stolen from me - by you. I know I will never get it back, but I wish to know if it is treasured by it's new owner - or thrown away and rejected."  
  
My mind was whirling as the pieces as to why Boromir had not been tempted by the ring clicked into place. And then all thought of the ring and proper plot of the story were swept out of my mind as I realized exactly what Boromir was saying. Staring at him, I could see the need for an answer burning in his eyes. Thoughts flew through my mind, out of order, unorganized and jumbled. I didn't know Boromir's exact age, but I KNEW he was at least twice my age. He needed to die for the quest to continue along its proper course. More flew through my mind, and suddenly I realized I had been quiet for a good while, and an edge of pleading had entered Boromir's look. I opened my mouth to reply, to tell him...something...when Orcs burst into the clearing.  
  
"Oh fudge. I'd forgotten about them." I growled as Boromir and I leapt apart and drew our swords. Boromir, already focusing on the Orcs, didn't even hear my comment. And then the Orcs were there, and we were kept quite busy. Suddenly, I wondered how the rest of the story was going. Had someone finally noticed that Frodo had disapeared? Was everyone else running around in the bush, searching? Distracted, I didn't notice as an Orc took a swipe at my head, and I wouldn't have survived if Boromir's sword hadn't suddenly parried the Orc's at the last moment.  
  
"Keep your mind on the fight!" Boromir grunted, pushing the Orc back with his sword before proceeding to finish it, not even glancing at me. I took a shaky breath and did as he suggested, forgetting everything else as I threw myself into the fight. It became painfully clear, however, that although Boromir and I were fighting well, there were just to many Orcs for us to fight alone. With only a glance at each other to confirm that we had the same thing in mind, we turned and ran. We knew we couldn't out run the Orcs for long, but we figured we could find some help before the Orcs overtook us.  
  
Then, to my right, over a hill, I heard two little voices, yelling and attracting Orcs to them. I turned towards the voices, and Boromir followed. I scrambled up the hill and reaching the top, looked down to find Merry and Pippin running as fast as their legs could take them away from a large group of Orcs. I glanced around - it looked like the place in the movie. Well. At least part of the plot was going right. Boromir, now completely focused on saving the hobbits, made a spectacular leap to in front of the hobbits, and started hacking at the Orcs attacking him. I faltered for a moment before joining him. Something in me screamed to go and hide and kill the Orc archer that I knew was coming, but, well, that was too much active changing of the plot, even for me, and besides, even Aragorn had had problems with that Orc. And I was maybe a quarter as good as Aragorn, when I was fresh and well-rested - which I was currently not.  
  
"Watch out for archers!" I couldn't help warning Boromir as I saw the archer appear over another hill.  
  
"I think I learned that in Moria!" Boromir shot back, but none the less, he glanced up, and spotted the archer. I'm quite sure the next thing he said was a curse. One thing I found out very quickly after that, though - it's extremely hard to fight and keep an eye on an archer at the same time.  
  
I didn't even notice when the first arrow was loosed. Of course, I hadn't even noticed that the archer was aiming at me instead of Boromir. The arrow hit my right shoulder with a flash of searing pain that made me gasp and almost drop my sword. I held on to it, somehow, but I'm right handed, and fought right handed, so even though I held onto my sword, I couldn't use it very well. Besides that, the force of the arrow had knocked me back a few feet and onto my knees. So I was fighting from hobbit height. Merry and Pippin decided to help me with that, while Boromir moved in front of me, now having three people to protect, and twice as many Orcs to fight. He took the first pause he could get to sound his Horn of Gondor, several times, then went back to fighting.  
  
Then the archer fired again. This time, I saw it, and punched Boromir's left leg as I saw the Orc release the string, and Boromir lurched to the side. The arrow whizzed by him, and right by my ear, before I heard it embed itself in a tree behind us.  
  
"Oi, that was close." I heard Pippin say under his breath, and guessed that the arrow had just missed him, as well. Boromir, having not seen the arrow, glanced back at me, annoyed, and an oncoming Orc took that opportunity to whack his shield into Boromir's head.  
  
Exit one conscious Boromir, enter one unconscious Boromir. Who managed to fall on top of me, causing the painful throb in my shoulder to escalate into a searing, blinding pain. I vaguely remember seeing Merry and Pippin carried off before passing out.  
  
What happened after that, I only know from what Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli said. Legolas and Gimli were actually the first to reach us, and they had a time defending the unconscious bodies of Boromir and I, though at the time, they'd had no clue whether or not we were alive. They had some trouble with the archer - Gimli's helm had a new hole in it - before Aragorn showed up and dealt with the orc. By that time, the majority of the Orcs had gone by, and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli finished off the few that were left before checking on Boromir and I. When they discovered we were alive, they carefully carried us back to the beach, to discover that Frodo and Sam were halfway to the other side. They had a small argument as to what to do after that, but Aragorn finally won, and they let Frodo and Sam go, instead staying on the shore they were on and tending to Boromir and my's wounds. I was the first one to wake up later that afternoon.  
  
"Ouch." was the first thing I said when I woke up.  
  
"Is your shoulder hurting?" Aragorn asked, coming over.  
  
"No, my head." I said.  
  
"I'm afraid you'll have to deal with it. Boromir has a more pressing need for the herbs to ease head pains." Aragorn said, sounding grave, and I glanced over to Boromir, who had a big nasty lump on the side of his head.  
  
"Ouch." I said again, this time in sympathy, as I sat up.  
  
"Yes, indeed." Aragorn said.  
  
"So what happened?" I asked, and Aragorn looked at me strangely.  
  
"I was going to ask YOU that." he said.  
  
"First, tell me what happened after Boromir and I went for a walk." I said.  
  
"After we realized you two had left, we also realized Frodo was gone, and we set out to look for him - and you two. You could have told us you were going." Aragorn said reprovingly.  
  
"Um...sorry. Didn't cross my mind." I said, avoiding looking directly at Aragorn.  
  
"Indeed." Aragorn said, arching an eyebrow, then continued. "We went off to search, and I found Frodo. He had decided to leave, he wouldn't say why, but I think the Ring is effecting his judgment. The Orcs came, then, and I fought them where I was until I heard the Horn of Gondor. Then I followed its sound to where you were. Legolas and Gimli had a similar experience, except they did not find Frodo." Aragorn said, and then described what I mentioned above about what happened after Boromir and I passed out.  
  
"Now we wish to know if you've seen Merry and Pippin." Legolas asked, he and Gimli having come over during Aragorn's explanation.  
  
"The Orcs have them." I said quietly, and suddenly I glanced up to the sky and noticed it was starting to darken. "We need to go after them."  
  
"I agree." Aragorn said. "But we will not make very good time with one unconscious and wounded with us."  
  
"I'll be fine. It's a shoulder wound, it won't affect my traveling capabilities." I said, shrugging with my good shoulder.  
  
"Indeed. But Boromir's injury is more serious." Legolas said.  
  
"Nonsense." said Boromir suddenly, startling us all, as we hadn't even been aware he was awake. "I'm fine." he added, sitting up, then groaned and fell back, putting a hand to his head.  
  
"That doesn't even warrant a response." I said dryly.  
  
"You are both injured - you can not come with us. The pace would be too much. You need to go back to Lothlorien, over land." Aragorn said sternly. I hesitated, the idea sounded tempting. Besides that, it would effectively fix the plot line. But then there was the fact that with Lothlorien, came Galadriel. And she wouldn't be exactly accepting of the way the plot had changed. Damnit, why had I told her that Boromir was tempted by the ring and died in the original plot?  
  
"No. We cannot go back to Lothlorien." I said, more crossly then I'd meant to. Aragorn arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Why not?" he asked.  
  
"Uh...it wouldn't be good for Boromir's health." I replied.  
  
"How so?" Legolas asked, curious and somewhat annoyed looking, obviously thinking I was referring negatively to Elven healing skills.  
  
"Just is. Stop asking questions. Going back to Lothlorien is impossible. So we're coming with you." I said flatly. Aragorn paused, then nodded, stood and headed off to pack up what little camp we had left. Legolas and Gimli looked confused that Aragorn would let me order him around like that, but then seemed to give a mental shrug, and Legolas checked on Boromir's head wound, then went to have a heated, if quiet, discussion with Aragorn in Elvish. Gimli just humphed and wandered off to the shore and glared across the water, to where an Elven boat was just visible, upturned and empty, on the other side.  
  
"You never answered me." Boromir's voice was quiet, and startled me, and I looked down at him.  
  
"The Orcs interrupted." I replied softly, then looked back out across the lake. There was silence once more, except for the low sounds of Legolas and Aragorn going at it.  
  
"I don't know, Boromir." I said finally, and I swear I heard Boromir let go of a breath he had been holding. "There's so many reasons..." I paused, not sure where I was going, and glanced down at Boromir, who had a pained look on his face. "I just don't know, Boromir. I was not expecting to know you this long. I need to think about this." I finished softly.  
  
"I can wait for as long as you need." Boromir replied simply, and caught my hand and kissed it lightly. I smiled down at him, and he smiled back, though I saw some confusion in his eyes at my comment. Then I got up and walked over to the shore to think. 


	9. Riders of Rohan and Erin's Home

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
I own nobody but Erin.  
  
~ Chapter IX~  
  
~ Riders of Rohan and Erin's Home ~  
  
Much to my delight, Boromir was well enough to travel by nightfall, which meant that we were keeping on schedule with the plot I knew. Unfortunately, he and I did slow the party down, though Aragorn would not admit to it. We also took longer breaks, and stopped sooner and started later. I figured we lost a good half a day with all the rests, so instead of hearing the Rohan riders sometime in the morning, we heard them in the late afternoon. I had been afraid we might miss them, being late, but it seemed we were heading pretty much straight for each other, unable to miss no matter how far behind we'd fallen. So, when Aragorn put his ear to ground to listen for the riders, and Legolas started straining his eyes to see something ahead of us, I looked around for a hiding spot. Seeing some rocks off to the right, I hiked my pack farther up on my back and marched over to it.  
  
"Lady Erin?" at Aragorn's voice, I stopped and turned. He was looking at me curiously, obviously wondering where I was going.  
  
"Rock. Nice sitting place." I said rather unintelligibly, pointing to a rock, then turned and took the last few steps to the rocks, and sat down on top of one to prove my point. Boromir quickly came and joined me, and a few moments later, so did Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn.  
  
"There is a host of riders coming this way." Aragorn announced.  
  
"Over a hundred, all armed." Legolas put in. "Little more then five leagues distant."  
  
"We cannot escape them in this land. Shall we wait here for them or go on our way?" Gimli asked.  
  
"We shall wait." Aragorn replied. "Lady Erin and Boromir need to rest, and our hunt has failed. Or at least others reached our prey before us - the riders are coming back down the Orc's trail. And we may get news from them."  
  
"Or spears." Gimli said gruffly.  
  
"I could see no hobbits among the riders." Legolas informed us.  
  
"I did not say we would hear good news." Aragorn commented, and the others were silent at that. So we stayed among the rocks, wrapping our Elven cloaks from Lothlorien about us, and waited for the riders to come. For me, it was incredibly boring. I knew vaguely what was coming and wasn't worried, though everyone else was tense.  
  
Finally, Gimli, unable to stand the silence, asked Aragorn what he knew of the riders. Aragorn replied with a nice description of the Rohan riders, and Boromir added to it, as well. When Gimli mentioned something about the Rohirrim paying tribute to Mordor, Boromir nearly snapped his head off. The dwarf sulked quietly after that, shooting glares Boromir's way, amusing me to no end. A sulking dwarf is a very amusing sight, no matter where you are.  
  
Finally, the horses were near enough that those of us without sharp Elven or ranger hearing could hear them. It was a quiet rumbling, at first, like distant thunder, but it quickly got louder, and the noise level continued to rise until, as the riders galloped by our hiding place, the noise was about equal to a dozen trains going by at once. Then the end of the riders was in sight, and I almost sighed in relief. The tail end of the riders went by, and the noise began to quiet again, when Aragorn jumped out of his hiding spot and turned to face the backs of the horsemen as they rode off.  
  
"What news from the north, Riders of Rohan?" Aragorn's voice carried on the wind, none too clearly, yet the riders knew they were being spoken to, and, as one, wheeled their horses around and came riding back. Legolas and Gimli jumped up to join Aragorn, but Boromir didn't even bother trying to get up, apparently too tired, and I figured it was better to stay with him. So Boromir and I watched, me with interest, Boromir with concern, as the riders surrounded Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. I couldn't hear what was said, but I imagine it was close to what the book had, since there was only the three that were supposed to be there. There was some commotion at the beginning, but eventually it died down, and finally some of the riders rode off aways. Then Aragorn motioned over to where Boromir and I were, and a curious Eomer followed as Aragorn led him over to where we sat.  
  
"Behold, Eomer - Boromir, son of Denethor, and the Lady Erin, our other traveling companions." Aragorn introduced once they were close enough to see us.  
  
"Yo." I said blandly. Eomer looked at me strangely, then greeted Boromir in a formal manner. Boromir greeted him back, and then Eomer turned to Aragorn.  
  
"All that you say is strange, Aragorn." he said, his brow furrowing. "Yet you speak the truth, that is plain - the Men of the Mark do no lie, and therefore are not easily deceived. But you have not told all. Will you or your companions not now speak more fully of your errand, so that I may judge what to do?"  
  
I had to admire Aragorn, he didn't even hesitate before telling Eomer a nice little story about us planning to go to Minas Tirith to help the city fight against Sauron, and Boromir was just as quick to back him up. Nothing that he said was untrue, really, except about what our original destination was, but it didn't let on anything about the Ring and Frodo. When Aragorn announced that Gandalf had been our leader, Eomer seemed quite happy to believe everything we said, then he warned us that merely being friends of Gandalf would not get us treated nicely, anymore, as the King now thought of Gandalf as a bringer of evil.  
  
Then Eomer went on to tell us the story of Gandalf's acquiring Shadowfax, and the subsequent return of the horse. That was Aragorn's cue to put in about Gandalf's death, and the conversation continued, boring me very much. It was amusing for a short bit when Eomer practically went into shock as he realized how far we'd traveled in four days, but the rest was singularly uninteresting, at least until the end. That was when Aragorn asked Eomer to take Boromir and I back to Edoras with him. Boromir protested immediately, but I stayed quiet. Aragorn, annoyed with Boromir for disagreeing with him, tried to reason with him, but Boromir would have nothing of it. Finally, I spoke up, tired of the arguing.  
  
"Even if you will not go, Boromir, I will. I need a rest - my shoulder needs time to heal - and I won't get that continuing after the Orcs," I said, and Boromir magically changed his mind about where he was going. I had to hold back a smile.  
  
Then Eomer said that he would still expect Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to come back, especially with the horses he was lending them, and I added that if they didn't come back, I'd go out and find them myself. It wasn't much far from the truth - Aragorn needed to come to Edoras for the plot to continue, and if he didn't, I would have to go out and make him. With both of us insisting, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli readily agreed to come back to Edoras, and Eomer had horses brought for the three of them. Gimli, of course, refused to ride, but Legolas managed to coax him into riding behind him on Arod. Then Eomer turned to Boromir and I.  
  
"It is well that your dwarven friend would not ride on his own, for we have but three riderless horses, and two have already gone with your companions." he said.  
  
"Then we'll ride double." I said. "I don't think Boromir could stay on a horse by himself, anyways."  
  
"No more then you could handle the reins of one by yourself." Boromir replied dryly, and Eomer glanced between us.  
  
"Why do you speak so?" he asked. "You both look sound and capable of riding to me." I realized then that he hadn't been told that we were injured, though he must have guessed something to that effect at my speech announcing I was going with him and the other Rohirrim to Edoras.  
  
"We had a nasty run in with those Orcs you killed while trying to save our friends." I said dryly. "I got shot in the shoulder, and Boromir got a solid whack in the head from an Orc shield."  
  
"I see. Well then perhaps it would be better if you each rode with one of the riders." Eomer said thoughtfully.  
  
"Uh - no." I said. Eomer was going to be thrown in prison when he got back, though he didn't know it, and I didn't want to join him there, nor did I want Boromir to join him there. Besides the fact that prisons in Middle-Earth didn't sound terribly inviting, it would probably make Boromir and my's wounds worse instead of better. It would be much more handy if Boromir and I rode on a single horse together, where we could simply fall back and disappear into the mass of riders and wait for Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf to show up. My flat refusal, however, took Eomer by surprise. Boromir, having gotten used to my rather assertive personality, hid a grin.  
  
"M'lady, it would be most -" Eomer began, but I cut him off.  
  
"Eomer, I've out argued Aragorn. Boromir and I will ride double, or we'll walk, and you can explain to Aragorn when he gets to Edoras why we're still a days walk away." I said flatly. Several of the nearby riders of Rohan looked incensed at my insolence, but Eomer sighed and accepted it. So Boromir and I mounted the horse - him behind, me in front - and, after Eomer told us the horses name was Mertan, we got underway.   
  
We rode steady for the rest of the day, and, to my surprise, the night as well. The only acknowledgement the riders made to the night was that we slowed down to a careful walk. Eomer, once we'd slowed down, tried to strike up a conversation with Boromir and I. I, however, was dead tired, and after carrying on a half-hearted conversation for a short while, announced I was going to sleep, then leaned back against Boromir, closed my eyes, and was asleep within a few moments. I know Boromir and Eomer talked quietly while I was asleep - it kept me from slipping into a truly peaceful sleep, instead keeping me in the restless dreaming state.  
  
I hadn't dreamed since I'd come to Middle-Earth. I don't know why - I suppose it's because every day had found me so tired and spent at the end that I fell immediately into a deep sleep without dreams. Or maybe it was the simple fact that I felt more relaxed in Middle-Earth, even when there were Orcs and Nazgul and other evil things out to kill me. But whatever the reason, on that ride with Boromir, I dreamt for the first time.  
  
I dreamt of home. Or, more accurately, I had nightmares of home. My home is not a pretty place. I live in one of the small suburbs on the outskirts of Toronto, one of the worst, in fact, with my parents and my brother. Well, I would live with my brother if he wasn't always in jail for some minor offence or another. Sometimes I envy him for that. My home is never quiet, my parents are always fighting. They never stop - and yet, they never leave each other.  
  
When I was younger, I remember someone taunting me that my parents were too lazy to break up, and as I grew older, I realized it was true. Neither of them could be that incredibly bothered to get up, pack their things, and leave. Of course, you would expect that from them just from looking at them. Take the first image you get of the parents in a dysfunctional family - probably a father with a beer belly and a mother on drugs - and you've got my parents.  
  
They've been like that ever since I can remember. I don't have a single memory in which there was pure happiness in my families home - not even at Christmas. And the only time I can ever remember my house being quiet was New Years day, 2001 - and that was only because my parents and my brother were all passed out, having drunk themselves into that state at various parties before their friends had dragged them home. The rest of the time, there's always noise of some sort, whether it's from the TV, stereo, people yelling at each other, or any combination of the three.  
  
So, as you can imagine, dreams of home are never happy, always nightmares. I dreamed of my father coming home, and yelling at my mother - typical. I dreamed of my brother - in jail, where I'd visited him so many times before. Other dreams were less coherent, and I could barely remember them, except for the undeniable feeling that they were of HOME and they were NOT HAPPY.  
  
It was with great relief that I woke with the light of the early dawn, to see Edoras on a hill not far distant. Beside me, Eomer rode, looking as if he was going to meet his doom, and I realized that he knew he was going to be imprisoned. As I stirred, Eomer looked over at me.  
  
"Boromir's asleep, isn't he?" I asked, when I realized that the weight of Boromir's torso was resting completely on me, pushing me forward.  
  
"Yes, he fell asleep a short while ago." Eomer replied. "Though he tried his hardest to remain awake until you woke."  
  
"He should have woken me if he needed sleep." I said, and Eomer glanced at me.  
  
"I do not think he could bring himself to wake you." he said quietly.  
  
"Probably," I muttered. There was a short silence, and I was trying to figure out how to drop back from Eomer without getting curious looks, when suddenly Eomer spoke up, calling one of his men to him.  
  
"Lady Erin, this is Irundin. I think it is best that you stay close to him near the rear of our host as we enter Edoras. I left to hunt your Orcs without my Kings permission, and I do not know how I will be greeted," Eomer introduced.  
  
"None too kindly," I said softly. "But you will be forgiven within a day." The two men looked at me oddly, and I just smiled softly. "It is a gift and a curse, and does not always work," I said simply, and the two seemed to accept my explanation. Irundin, for his part, nodded to me, then headed back along the line of riders, and I turned and followed. 


	10. Irundin's Home and Galadriel's Watching

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
I own Erin, Irundin, and his family. The rest, I don't.  
  
~ Chapter X~  
  
~ Irundin's Home and Galadriel's Watching ~  
  
Boromir woke up when we got close to Edoras, and we talked with Irundin for a short while. He told us about his family - he had a wife and two daughters - and then we were close enough to Edoras that Irundin told us to raise the hoods of our cloaks. Those watching may have passed over Boromir, he looked vaguely like the rest of the riders, but I was a woman, and besides, I had short red hair and was wearing Elven clothes - definitely wouldn't blend in that easily. So we just hid within our Lorien cloaks, and nobody gave us a second glance. Gotta love those cloaks. They blend into practically anything.  
  
Once Eomer was arrested, the riders milled around angrily for awhile before drifting off, each to their own homes, and Boromir and I followed Irundin to his. Before we reached Irundin's house, he turned to Boromir and advised him to use another name until Eomer was cleared and Theoden welcomed us properly. The name of Boromir was too well known, especially added with Boromir's very Gondorian looks, and it wouldn't take him too long to be recognized and questioned if he used his own name. Boromir quickly decided to go by Arodin, and Irundin accepted the name readily, as we were approaching his house and didn't have any time to debate.  
  
Irundin's home was a common one, about halfway down the hill on which Edoras stood. It was plain, but it wasn't grubby, and I liked it the instant I saw it. It made me think of what a home SHOULD be like - friendly, inviting. When we rode up to the house, two children came running out of it and latched onto Irundin as he dismounted. Following at a more respectable pace was Irundin's wife. Boromir and I dismounted and watched at a distance as Irundin greeted his family, then he motioned for us to come forward.  
  
"Kista, this is Erin and Arodin. Our host found them on our travels, and Eomer bade me house them until he could properly introduce them to Theoden King." Irundin introduced. "Erin and Arodin, this is my wife, Kista, and my two daughters, Geona and Atora."  
  
"Hi!" I said, raising a hand in greeting, and Boromir nodded slightly in the families direction. Atora, the younger of the two children, let go of her father and came and looked up at me.  
  
"Is that Elvish?" she asked after a pause, pointing to the brooch on my cloak. I blinked in surprise, then grinned.  
  
"Indeed it is." I said, and Atora's eyes went wide. From that moment on, I was the girl's best friend. During the midday meal with the family, Atora asked me billions of questions about Elves. I don't think she even noticed that Boromir had the same cloak. Boromir didn't look as he minded, however, preferring to sit off with Irundin, talking quietly and smoking his pipe, reminding me very much of Aragorn's first appearance in the Fellowship of the Ring movie.  
  
Atora tried to drag me off to see the city and her friends in the afternoon, but Irundin told her I was not to leave the house, and I shrugged in response to her pleading look. Atora then decided she would bring her friends to the house to talk to me, but Irundin told her she couldn't do that, either, and the girl stormed off, annoyed. Irundin apologized, saying his daughter was very strong willed.  
  
"So am I," I said with a grin, and Boromir and Irundin chuckled. Geona, for her part, stayed around the house, quietly sitting in a corner doing mending or sewing, or in the kitchen cooking or cleaning, and seemed almost afraid of Boromir and I. Kista explained that, unlike her youngest daughter, her older daughter was quite shy and usually took a few days to warm up to strangers.  
  
Boromir and I, in the afternoon when Irundin went out, sat by the window in the main room and talked quietly of the quest. Boromir, at one point, tried to start a conversation about Gandalf falling, but I quickly changed the subject, and Boromir didn't bring it up again, for which I was grateful. He probably thought I was still grieving, but I really just didn't feel like talking about the wizard like he was dead when he wasn't.  
  
When the sky began to darken, Atora reappeared, dirtier for the wear, and was ordered to wash up before supper. When she was done, she started bombarding me with questions again. Then she saw the Elven sword from Galadriel. She oooed over that until supper time, though from the longing look she gave it when I put it away, I knew she would have loved to see it used, or use it herself. After supper, Geona disappeared up to her room for bed. Atora was all ready to bombard me with questions again, but Kista sent her off to bed, as well. Now that it was just Boromir, Kista, Irundin and I up, Kista turned to her husband, planted her hands on her hips, and raised an eyebrow demandingly.  
  
"Now that the children are in bed, you shall have to tell me the REAL story of how you came upon these two travelers, and what their real names are." she announced, and Irundin grinned sheepishly while I tried to hold back a giggle. Boromir just watched, amused, as Irundin told the story of how we'd been found and why we'd been brought home with him. When he was done, Kista stared about the room thoughtfully, then politely excused herself and went to bed. Irundin, concerned, told us where to find the guest room, then followed his wife.  
  
"I wonder how long we shall be staying here." Boromir said idly as he gazed into the fire.  
  
"Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli will arrive sometime tomorrow," I said, and Boromir glanced at me in surprise.  
  
"How do you know this?" he asked.  
  
"My secret," I said with a small smile, and Boromir shook his head, a smile twitching on his lips.  
  
"Very well then, I will not pry," he said. "I will, however, go get some rest." Then he rose, and I nodded a goodnight to him. I stayed out in the main room for awhile, watching the fire, making sure it didn't die out completely. I got slowly drowsy, and I must have slipped into sleep, because next thing I knew, I was standing in Lothlorien, with Galadriel in front of me.  
  
"Well this is a lovely dream," I said sarcastically. Galadriel simply stared implacably at me.  
  
"He is still alive," she said when I started to shift uncomfortably under her gaze.  
  
"Uh, yeah. But everything's going as it should, anyways," I said.  
  
"For now," Galadriel said icily.  
  
"And as long as I can, I'll make sure that it does," I continued, annoyed.  
  
"Even you cannot predict the changes that Boromir's living will create in the quest. And you most certainly cannot be there to fix them all," Galadriel said, her eyes boring into me.  
  
"No. But there hasn't exactly been a way I could believably let Boromir be killed, either," I said, getting more annoyed.  
  
"Hasn't there?" Galadriel asked. "Perhaps you will just not let yourself see the chances that come."  
  
"Very possible," I replied, and Galadriel's eyes flared. I couldn't help but smirk. Galadriel was apparently very used to getting her way, and me refusing to co-operate was not making her happy.  
  
"Does the success of the quest mean nothing to you, child?" Galadriel demanded.  
  
"Yes, it does," I said. "And right now the quest is succeeding very nicely. When it starts to go astray, I'll be the first person there to fix it, even if I have to storm the gates of Mordor to do so. Until then, I'm going to enjoy my time in Middle-Earth." Galadriel gaped at me, and then the dream faded. Opening my eyes, I shook my head and looked up to see Boromir looking at me curiously from across the room.  
  
"You were dreaming?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," I replied, startled. "How did you know?"  
  
"You were speaking in your sleep," Boromir replied.  
  
"Did you hear anything?" I asked, worried, and was relieved when Boromir shook his head.  
  
"You spoke too quietly," he answered, and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I ran my hand through my hair then, and stood.  
  
"How long was I asleep?" I asked.  
  
"I do not know, but the sky is beginning to lighten, now," Boromir replied, and I blinked in surprise.  
  
"Well. I guess I can get an hour or two of sleep." I said, then headed off to the guest room. There were two beds in it, I realized as I entered, and was rather grateful. I liked Boromir - but I wasn't quite sure if I liked him that way, or as much as he claimed to like me. I picked the bed that didn't look slept in - the one on the outer wall, underneath the window, and curled up on it. I pulled the blankets over me, and went to sleep. 


	11. Edoras

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Atora, Geona, Kista, Irundin and Erin are mine. The rest are not.  
  
~ Chapter III~  
  
~ Edoras ~  
  
I woke with a start a few hours later. I'd had another nightmare. I don't know what it was, but being in Rohan seemed to be causing me to have all sorts of dreams. This dream, in particular, was about Boromir's death in the movie. Though it was a helluva lot more dragged out, heart wrenching, and generally unhappy. It scared me, frankly, and I couldn't help getting up and tiptoeing over to Boromir's bed to make sure he was actually there.  
  
He wasn't. In my half-asleep state, that nearly sent me into shock. Then my drowsy mind, grasping for answers, reasoned that he must have been out in the main room, where I had been earlier. So I went out there. But Boromir was not there, either. Now, confused and slightly panicked, I strode over to the main door to the house, and, to my relief, found that it was slightly open. I KNEW it had been shut before everyone had gone to bed. So, if it was partways open, somebody had to be outside - Boromir, I thought happily.  
  
Not satisfied that Boromir was safe until I actually saw him, I quickly opened the door and slipped out. There was Boromir, leaning against the wall on the house, staring off toward Gondor. I must have been rather noisy in my half-asleep state, because I barely had time to realize that Boromir was out there and safe before he looked over at me.  
  
"Lady Erin?" he asked. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. I had some nightmares," I said softly.  
  
"You seem to be having them a lot," Boromir commented. "You had some on the ride here."  
  
"Yes," I said, still speaking quietly.  
  
"I begin to think perhaps it would be wiser if you had not come on this journey," Boromir said, concern in his voice. "While I and the rest of the company have been through many battles before, even a child could tell that the fight against the Orcs in Moria was your first real one."  
  
"It's not the quest that's giving me nightmares, Boromir. At least, not directly," I said with a sigh.  
  
"What then do you have nightmares of?" Boromir asked.  
  
"Of home, on the ride here," I said, frowning thoughtfully.  
  
"One would think that dreams of home would be happy," Boromir commented.  
  
"Not of my home, Boromir. No dream of my home is a happy dream," I said sadly, staring off into the distance.  
  
"Even so, you should not let your dreams of home trouble you. For, though I have not heard where your home truly is, I know it is not here. Therefore, what have you to fear?" Boromir said softly after a pause, placing a hand on my shoulder. "But I do not think it is your nightmares from last night that drew you out in the cold."  
  
"No," I said. "No, they didn't."  
  
"Am I right in guessing it was your dreams from tonight?" Boromir asked, and I nodded. "Well then, come and tell me what they were about, perhaps I can comfort you about them." I sighed deeply.  
  
"Actually, merely seeing you is a comfort against those dreams," I said softly. "They were about you dieing."  
  
"Me...dieing?" Boromir seemed unsure of what to make of this. I don't know what triggered my next reaction, probably sleepiness, and being emotional from the dreams, but suddenly I got the irresistible urge to hug Boromir and not let go. And, well, it WAS an irresistible urge. Boromir seemed quite surprised, but soon wrapped his arms around me. I think that was when it actually hit home that Boromir was ALIVE, and hadn't been killed by the orcs, and there was no impending doom in his future, at least not that I knew of.  
  
At least, I'm guessing that's why my heart suddenly lifted, and the feelings I had not allowed to grow there - in fact, had purposely held back - grew from barely recognizable to undeniable within moments. Drawing back from Boromir, slightly in wonder of what my feelings were now telling me, I glanced up to his face and read so many things there that somehow I knew had always been there, yet I'd never noticed. Prime among them at the moment seemed to be pain, along with longing, and, half delirious from lack of sleep and this sudden revelation, I giggled, then kissed Boromir.  
  
The kiss took him completely by surprise - something I seemed to be doing quite well this morning - and it took him several moments to respond. But when he did, what had started out as a light, carefree kiss, quickly deepened into a passionate one. Boromir's arms were tight about me, holding me close, pressing me against him, just as my hands were locked about his neck, not letting him move back, or even think about breaking the kiss. The only reason we eventually pulled apart was for air, which we were, by this time, a little on the short side of. Gasping for breath, I rested my head on Boromir's chest, and heard his heart beating wildly.  
  
"I think your heart has been replaced with a different one," I said softly, smiling slightly. "Mine."  
  
"And it is a fair and wondrous heart indeed," Boromir breathed in reply, and kissed my forehead lightly.  
  
---  
  
I woke to the light of a close to midday sun shining on my face. That confused me for a moment, as I remembered that I'd picked the bed under the window - where no sun would shine on me at practically any time of the day. But then I felt the arms around my waist, and I remembered.  
  
Boromir and I had stayed outside and watched the sky lighten slowly, until the first rays of sunlight had peeked over the horizon, then gone into the guest room to sleep. Neither of us had exactly liked the idea of letting go of each other, so we settled on lying down on the same bed - which just happened to be Boromir's. I smiled, and snuggled back against Boromir, feeling that for once in my life, I was actually happy. Then some voices drifted in from the main room, and my eyes snapped open.  
  
Well, we were definitely too late to greet Gandalf and company when they arrived in Edoras. Reluctantly, I eased myself out of Boromir's arms and quickly - while watching to make sure Boromir was asleep - changed into some less rumpled clothes. I neatened my rather messy hair, then slipped out of the room.  
  
"Ah, Lady Erin!" Gandalf greeted me with a smile as I walked into the main room of the house. He, along with Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, were sitting around, presumably talking to Irundin and Kista before I'd entered. Atora was sitting quietly by the window, watching Legolas in absolute fascination, while Geona was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Hello, Gandalf!" I said, also smiling, and gave the wizard a hug.  
  
"How is your shoulder?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"Much better," I replied. "A good rest was what it needed."  
  
"Good. Then you will be able to ride with us to Helm's Deep today," Aragorn said.  
  
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I said with a grin. Though I didn't add that I would certainly like to miss the battle that would take place there after we arrived.  
  
"And how is Boromir?" Gandalf asked.  
  
"Sleeping," I replied, and rolled my eyes, then grinned. "Much like I was not too long ago."  
  
"Well it is time he rose. The host is nearly assembled, and we should go to join them," Aragorn said, and I nodded.  
  
"I'll go wake him up then." I went back to room I'd just left and slipped inside. Boromir was still fast asleep, though he had since sprawled over the entire bed. I held back a giggle as I went over to the side of the bed, and pondered how to wake him up. I settled on trying the nice way, first.  
  
"Wake up, sleepyhead," I said cheerfully, then bent over and gave Boromir a light kiss on the temple. He stirred in his sleep, and one eye flickered as if to open, but remained shut. So I decided to find out if the heir to the stewardship of Gondor was ticklish. He was.  
  
"A fine way to wake someone up," Boromir said grumpily, glaring in my direction as he sat up in bed.  
  
"I tried the nice way. But you didn't wake up, and we need to leave soon - as in, now," I said with a smile, then lightly kissed him before heading out of the room again.  
  
"He's up," I announced cheerfully as I entered the main room again. Several of the people in there chuckled.  
  
"So we heard," Gandalf said, amusement in his voice.  
  
"Well, I tried the nice way and he wouldn't wake up," I said, rolling my eyes.  
  
"There is no need for haste," Legolas commented.  
  
"Yes there is. He's still gotta find out Gandalf's alive," I retorted. "He's gonna need several minutes of shock and explanation to get over that."  
  
"Hm...yes..." Legolas said, thoughtfully, then eyed me, obviously wondering why I hadn't gone into shock when I'd seen Gandalf. He didn't actually ask, however, and neither did Gimli. But then, I'm not even sure the dwarf noticed - he seemed absorbed in his own thoughts. Boromir emerged from the guest room a while later, and promptly went into shock when he saw Gandalf. During the explanations that followed, Kista found some food for Boromir and me, and I went and packed up Boromir and my things.  
  
Once Boromir had heard the entire story of Gandalf's fight with the Balrog, we were ready to go. Irundin was ready to go with us and the host to Helm's deep, while Kista, Atora and Geona were simply waiting for us to leave so they could pack to go to Dunharrow in the group to be led by Eowyn. So Irundin and us in the Fellowship said goodbye to Kista and Atora - Geona still hadn't appeared - and Atora managed to work up enough courage to give Legolas a hug, startling him very much, before dashing inside. I grinned and made a mental note to explain to him later. When we reached the large collection of riders assembling, we split ways with Irundin, him going towards his place in the back, us to the front, where Theoden was waiting, along with Hasufel, Arod, Mertan, and another unknown horse.  
  
"Greetings, Theoden. Here are the two of our party that we told you about - the Lady Erin, and Boromir, son of Denethor," Gandalf introduced us, and once more, I shocked those watching by bowing instead of curtseying. I still hadn't gotten around to learning how to curtsey.  
  
"It is an honour to meet you both," Theoden said graciously. I simply smiled, while Boromir greeted the king back. Then Eomer approached Gimli and asked the dwarf to ride with him, and dwarf agreed.  
  
"Where is Shadowfax?" Gandalf asked suddenly.  
  
"Running wild over the grass," someone answered, then added that no one could now tame the horse, before pointing out where the horse was running down a ford. Gandalf whistled, and called the horses name, and Shadowfax turned and came galloping back.  
  
I'm not that into horses - I've never really had the opportunity, and I've been more interested in fantasy then in the real world - but I could tell this was an extraordinary horse, even without the knowledge of the book to tell me so. The horse they got for the movie had barely done justice to this great horse. For one, the horse in the movie had been white, but this horse was SILVER. As in, almost liquid-silver looking. It was an extraordinary colour to see on a living horse, and I had to concentrate not to keep myself from gaping, especially as he got closer and I realized how tall he was. My head? Up to Shadowfax's shoulder. I don't think anyone would ever be able to fully describe this horse without resorting to words like 'amazing', 'wonderful' and 'magnificent'.  
  
"Were the breath of the West Wind to take a body visible, even so would it appear," Eomer said softly, and I nodded in agreement as Shadowfax came to a stop before Gandalf.  
  
"The gift seems already to be given," Theoden said, almost dryly. "But hearken all! Here now I name my guest, Gandalf Greyhame, wisest of councilors, most welcome of wanderers, a lord of the Mark, a chieftain of the Eorlingas while our kin shall last; and I give to him Shadowfax, prince of horses." I couldn't help but envy Gandalf a little. But then, I probably would've been scared to go anywhere NEAR the horse. Then Gandalf thanked Theoden, and cast aside his grey clothes and leaped onto Shadowfax's back, all shiny and white and dazzling. The riders took up Aragorn's cry of 'Behold the White Rider' after that, and then they obviously decided it was time we left, because then they were shouting 'Our King and the White Rider! Forth Eorlingas!' Eomer quickly led us over to our horses, and we mounted, me getting the unknown horse. Of course.  
  
"Her name is Rosai," Eomer told me quickly as we maneuvered our five horses so we were behind Theoden and Gandalf, and then the trumpets sounded, many horses neighed, some reared, spears were banged on shields, and the host was off. 


	12. Helm's Deep, Part 1

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
None of the characters are mine. Neither is the setting. Nor is any of the dialogue I may happen to use from the book. Erin is, however, mine. And the rest of the original words are also mine.  
  
~ Chapter XII~  
  
~ Helm's Deep, Part 1 ~  
  
We arrived at Helm's Deep the next evening, riding almost non-stop along the way. Gandalf had left early the second day of our ride, so it was down to Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir and I.  
  
When I saw Helm's Deep, I was, for once, not incredibly amazed by it. It looked almost exactly like it had in the movie, and though the walls were certainly tall and impressive, they weren't amazing. This was a fortress, built to be defended, and had very little decoration in it. I'm sure, if I'd known something about military defense, I'd be in absolute awe, but as it was, I just saw it as a lot of large, plain stone walls. And it was all very grey and dreary, which immediately brought my good mood crashing down to the reality that I was going to be in an actually war battle. It would be nothing like my previous two battles with orcs, I was sure. There, it was simple - stay alive, and get away. Here - the goal was to completely defeat the enemy.  
  
When we arrived, everyone inside the fortress was very happy we'd come, and a small cheer was picked up before someone decided it was best to be quiet. We immediately set about getting food - after all, you can't go into battle without something in your stomach to threaten to come up as an added projectile weapon. Not that it would work that well against Orcs.  
  
Once we were done eating, Theoden encouraged the Fellowship to go get any extra armour or weapons we needed from the armory. When we went down to the armory, we discovered that there were a great number of other people down there, also raiding the armory. We managed to work our way around the room, however, looking at the weapons as we went, and Boromir found some knives he liked, as did Aragorn, and Gimli found a few axes. I had my sword, both the normal one Gandalf had found for me in Rivendell and the Elvish one from Galadriel, and didn't need or know how to use anything else. I would've loved to have had a shield, but frankly, I had no clue how to fight while using one, and it would probably hinder me more then help me. Boromir did find a chain mail shirt for me that fit rather well, though.  
  
I was surprised, slightly, when Aragorn and Legolas got in an argument in Elvish in the armory. There were two different versions of this part of the story in my mind - the book, and the movie, which I only vaguely remembered. But I remember one thing clearly - in the movie, we were attacked before we got to Helm's Deep and Aragorn took a trip down a river and got really really dirty. And since that hadn't happened, I'd figured we were following the book. But the argument in Elvish was NOT in the book. So I wondered suddenly if the Elves were going to show up suddenly to help us fight. The fighters around us were definitely disheartened enough about the coming battle. They could use the morale boost.  
  
When we were done picking our weapons, the Fellowship made it's way back up to King Theoden's hall in the keep. There, Theoden started talking about tactics and methods of war and such, and I, very bored, left the hall to roam around, keeping a careful watch on where I was and how close the Orcs were, so I could get back to the hall before the attack began. Eventually, I ended out on the great wall of Helm's Deep, that was later to be turned into gravel in the middle. I silently reminded myself to keep away from the middle of the wall during the battle, then looked out over the wall.  
  
I'd avoided looking behind us the whole time we were riding, since I knew there were Orcs behind us and didn't really want to see them chasing us. But now, when I climbed onto the wall of Helm's Deep and looked back the way we'd come, I saw that though there was indeed to smoke and glow of fires that the orcs were starting as they went, trying to intimidate us, it was a lot farther off then I'd thought it had been in the book. This was definitely shaping up to be more like the battle from the movie.  
  
Sure enough, as I stood watching, a long column of figures slowly began to appear out of the night. The guards closest to me began to shift nervously, and one put and arrow to the string of his bow and looked about to shoot.  
  
"It's the Elves." I said quietly, then left the wall and jogged back to the keep, leaving a startled guard behind me. I reached the keeps steps just as the cry rang out that someone was approaching, and those that had been in Theoden's hall discussing strategy now rushed out to see who it was. Then the cry went out that it was the fair people, and everyone but me just about went into shock. I, of course, had a grin plastered on my face.  
  
I stood back, far up the steps, as the Elves entered, and then Haldir stepped forward and made his speech about Elves and Men fighting together again. Theoden replied, and Aragorn decided this would be a good time to hug the Elf. I tried not to snigger at Haldir's surprised look and wary response to the gesture, knowing every elf currently in Helm's Deep would hear if I did. Once the Elves were welcomed, Theoden and the rest of the Fellowship, plus Haldir, disappeared back into Theoden's hall. Out of curiosity, I joined them.  
  
"It is a good thing you have come, Haldir." Aragorn said once we had entered the hall and the doors were closed.  
  
"Indeed, now that I have seen the forces you have to defend the Deep, I see the wisdom of the Lady in sending us." Haldir replied calmly. "Though some would wonder if even our help can make a difference in this battle." I kept silent on my knowledge of this. The others continued to talk about strategy and the coming battle, for what seemed like hours, until someone came and whispered something in Theoden's ear. Then he announced it was time for us to go out to the walls, and we did. Somehow, Haldir managed to end up beside me, and grabbed my arm and stopped me, keeping me in the hall while everyone else went out.  
  
"The Lady is not pleased with you, human." Haldir told me seriously.  
  
"Not kidding." I said sarcastically.  
  
"He was supposed to die and you did not let it happen. It has changed the course of the quest, and should be rectified quickly." Haldir said meaningfully. I chose not to guess at what he was trying to imply.  
  
"What exactly are you suggesting? That I kill him?" I asked sarcastically.  
  
"Yes." was Haldir's reply. "If it comes down to that." I stared at him in surprise. I had expected something like 'cause him to let his guard down and then leave him to be killed', not 'kill him'.  
  
"You're kidding, right?" I said blankly.  
  
"No." Haldir said.  
  
"And just how does the lady suggest I do this?" I asked icily. I knew there was no way in hell I'd do as asked, but I was curious as to what they'd come up with.  
  
"The Lady is prepared for her Elves to take the blame for the son of Denethor's death." Haldir said calmly, and this time my jaw dropped. I had been right about the sword.  
  
"You efing..." I began, anger surging up in me, then I realized that yelling wouldn't help the matter - would probably make it worse, in fact - and calmed down, taking a deep breath and running my hand through my hair.  
  
"Haldir, I won't." I replied simply. "If she's so prepared for the Lothlorien elves to take the blame, you can try and kill him. But I will be there, watching, defending him against his enemies - whether they're Elf or Orc."  
  
"You will not remain by his side the entire battle." Haldir said, his eye hardening as he adjusted to the thought that he'd have to kill Boromir.  
  
"No, and you won't live until it's end." I snapped in reply.  
  
"Is that a threat, human?" Haldir asked, eyes narrowing.  
  
"No, it's knowledge of the future." I replied, looking straight back at him.  
  
"Your knowledge of the future regarding deaths up to this point has not exactly been correct." Haldir said pointedly.  
  
"I was there to save Boromir - I won't be there to save you." I said softly, then turned on my heal and left. On my way out, I almost ran into Boromir, who had come to see where I'd gotten too. He looked at my hard expression, and seemed about to comment when he glanced over at Haldir and saw a matching expression on the elf. Wisely, he decided not to say anything. Instead, he led the way to where the rest of the Fellowship was waiting. They greeted me with nods, all looking grim, and I soon adopted the same expression as I looked out at the Orcs that were fast approaching.  
  
There were TONS of them. I felt sure there had to be over a million of them, though I knew it was closer to a hundred thousand. It looked as if there was a wave of Orcs coming our way, and for the first real time since I'd entered Middle-Earth, I felt fear that I might die here. The prospect of dieing in Middle-Earth wasn't all that bad to me, and before I had come to Middle-Earth, the prospect of dieing hadn't bothered me, either. But now...the thought of dieing made me want to run into the caves and hide until the battle was over. That made me smile wryly. What interesting comments I'd get then.  
  
The Orcs had come to a stop a fair ways before the wall, now, and were making the most annoying noises, giving war cries, banging on their shields, generally trying to frighten us. I noticed, for a few humans, it seemed to be working. Then one single arrow flew from one of our archers, and absolute silence rained as the Orc the one arrow had hit fell to the ground, dead.  
  
Then the Orcs came on, their war cries for real this time.  
  
For the first part of the fight, there was really nothing for Boromir and I to do - all the Orcs were down on the ground, and neither of us were very good archers. Boromir did, I noticed, throw his two newly-acquired knives down at some Orcs, and from the look of satisfaction on his face, I guessed they'd hit their marks.  
  
Then the ladders started coming, and Boromir and I had plenty of work. It was difficult to fight while keeping an eye out for Boromir's defenses, too - it was like fighting with someone who you never knew if they'd be able to protect themselves. Boromir saved my skin many times, and from the alternately worried and annoyed glances he shot my way, I knew I wasn't fighting up to snuff, and he had noticed. It would have been nice if Haldir had just moved a good ways away - like, to the other end of the wall - but he stuck to within 20 feet of Boromir and I, so I couldn't relax for even an instant.  
  
Boromir and I got separated from Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas at some point, so I was rather surprised when I looked down over the wall in one of the few lulls in fighting and saw Aragorn down at the gate with Gimli, driving off some Orc attackers. That reminded me of what was to come with the 'Fire of Orthanc', and I took stock of where Boromir and I were on the wall.  
  
"Damn it!" I swore, mostly to myself, as a fresh wave of Orcs came over the wall. Boromir and I were almost exactly in the middle of the wall - I could see the stream that came through the grate in the wall beneath us. So I started trying to edge Boromir and I away from the center. Boromir, however, did not know what was coming, and the most Orcs were to be found in the middle of the wall. Somehow, I got separated from him. When I realized, I was more worried about the wall blowing up then Haldir getting to Boromir.  
  
Ducking under an Orcs swing, I thrust my sword into its gut, and it fell, dead. Glancing around, I realized that there were no more Orcs around, only Rohirrim and Elves. In this lull, I glanced over the wall, and to my horror, saw the Orcs rolling the bomb into the grate, the 'Suicide Orc' not far behind. I searched the wall frantically, barely noticing Legolas shooting at the suicide orc, searching Boromir. Finally I found him - right where we'd been at the last lull. On top of the drain.  
  
And then the wall blew up. 


	13. Helm's Deep, Part 2, Plus Sauron

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Everyone and everything but Erin is not mine.  
  
~ Chapter XIII~  
  
~ Helm's Deep, Part 2 ~  
  
I'm pretty sure I screamed Boromir's name when the wall blew up, and I know I started running towards the now-gaping hole, but someone caught me and held me back. I glared up at the Rohirrim who had caught me, and they quickly let go. The pause had been long enough for my common sense to pipe up, however, and now I rushed to the back of the wall to see if I could spot Boromir on the field. It was already thick with Orcs and Rohirrim, however, fighting, and it was too dark, besides. So I decided to try another approach. I glanced around, and spotted Haldir a few feet away, fighting an Orc. I ran up behind him, stabbed the Orc in the throat, my sword going right over Haldir's shoulder, then yanked my sword back, grabbed Haldir's arm, and dragged him with me towards the nearest stairway down to the field.  
  
"Lady Erin, what -" the rest of Haldir's question was drowned out by the death scream of a nearby orc.  
  
"Boromir was on that wall when it blew, and you're the first Elf I saw that I know knows what Boromir looks like." I shot back at Haldir grimly, hoping that answered whatever his question had been. Evidently it had, because suddenly he was running even with me as I dashed down the stairs to the field. He headed straight for the slight rise in the field, then stood, poised on the hill, scanning the field. To my surprise, he left his defense completely up to me - not that I had to do any more then kill a few Orcs that came our way. Then Haldir grabbed my arm and was pulling me along, weaving in and out between individual battles between Orcs and Rohirrim, and we were suddenly at the base of a large chunk of the wall.  
  
"Um..." I said uncertainly, looking around. Then I spotted what Haldir had seen - Boromir's shield.  
  
"Well, he WAS here." I said, picking up the round shield. Haldir, however, was not paying attention to me, having scrambled to the top of the rock and started looking around. Honestly, I was rather surprised Haldir was being so agreeable in helping me look, but I still didn't trust his motives completely, and I was determined to try and reach Boromir first, if we ever spotted the Gondorian.  
  
"I think I see him over by the gap, fighting." Haldir said, jumping down. "This light is not good, and he blends into the Rohirrim well."  
  
"Well, let's go see." I said, and Haldir and I went off. The Orcs got thicker the closer we went to the gap in the wall, and several times we became completely surrounded by Orcs and had to stop to fight them off. We weren't delayed for very long, though, since every delay got me more impatient - and more deadly, as Haldir remarked once after we finished off a collection of Orcs.  
  
We were surrounded by another collection of Orcs when I heard a sound that I hadn't since Amon Hen - the Horn of Gondor. Instantly, I turned from the Orc I had been fighting, whacking it aside with Boromir's shield, and ran towards the sound of the horn. Haldir was close behind me, fending off the Orcs that I ran right by, completely ignoring.  
  
Finally, I ducked around a large group of Orcs, and came upon a grim sight. There, right on the edge of the gap in the wall, stood five Rohirrim gathered around Boromir, who was letting loose more blasts on his horn, a gash visible above his left elbow, and a cut standing out on his cheek. He was unarmed, and around the six fighters were several dozen Orcs. I eyed Boromir's shield, then the distance between me and him. Well, my aim wasn't the best, but I figured I could do it.  
  
"Boromir!" I called, and his head snapped in my direction. "Catch!" I called, and threw Boromir's shield to him like a frisbee. He stepped aside, slightly, then caught the shield neatly, and I smiled - it was nice to have my aim perfect when I needed it to be. Then an Orc swung at my head, and I got busy fighting Orcs.  
  
"We need more help!" Haldir called from behind me.  
  
"If we can work our way to the Rohirrim and Boromir, we'll have help!" I replied, and I glanced back to see Haldir nod, and somehow we started moving in the right direction. It seemed like hours, but finally, when the Orc in front of me fell, I saw the back of another, and Rohirrim fighting it just beyond. I stabbed the Orc in the back, then jumped through the gap, Haldir right behind me, and turned to fight the Orcs following us. The Rohirrim were surprised, and the two closest half-turned as if to attack us, but quickly realized we were friends and turned back to the Orcs.  
  
"Thanks." I heard Boromir say quietly in my ear during the fight. "But you wouldn't happen to have a sword I could use?" I hesitated a moment, then glanced down at the scabbard that hung close to the one for the sword I was using.  
  
"Only if you can put that shield to good use." I said, and Boromir's shield suddenly appeared in front of me. I shifted the sword I was using to my left hand, drew the Elven sword from Galadriel, and handed it to Boromir.  
  
"Galadriel's gift?" Boromir asked in surprise. "I cannot use this - it was given to you. You must use it." Boromir tried to give the sword back to me, but I didn't let him.  
  
"I will not use that sword, be it the last one on Middle-Earth and I facing Sauron himself. Now use it, or grab an Orcs sword." I said grimly, and pushed Boromir's shield aside, attacking the Orc that was beyond it. There was a pause, then Boromir was beside me, fighting.  
  
Then the call came to retreat. The Rohirrim, Haldir, Boromir and I glanced around, and as one, made noises that had various meanings along the line of 'yeah, right'. From where we were, it looked to be virtually immpossible to get out. But none the less, we started working our way back along the wall, and gradually the Orcs thinned out.  
  
Then we turned and ran. As we ran, we noticed we were practically the only ones out on the field that were NOT Orcs. I could see Aragorn slightly ahead of us, fighting off some Orcs, but he was the only other being not Orcish I could see besides those running with me. And when we reached Aragorn, he turned and ran with us. It hit me, then, that Haldir was supposed to be dieing right now on top of the wall. But he was down here with me - I'd unconsciously saved him. The thought made me grin. I really hadn't wanted the Elf to die. Hell, I didn't want ANYONE to die, (except maybe my parents and the Orcs) but this was war, and I'd tried to accept that I'd lose people I knew. Somehow, however, every person who I knew who was supposed to die had managed not to. Galadriel would not be happy.  
  
I really don't know what those in Theoden's hall thought when we came running in, all grim except for me, who was grinning. When the Rohirrim that had come in with me saw me grinning, they started to edge away, while Aragorn and Boromir looked at me curiously. Haldir just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Did you find that fun?" Haldir asked.  
  
"Nah. I'm grinning because certain people who should be dead aren't." I said happily, flopping down on the floor. "Hey, how close is it to dawn, anyways?"  
  
"It should be soon, why?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"Sunbeams are pretty." I replied dismissively, and once more, everyone looked at me strangely. Aragorn, however, seemed to realize that there was a more specific reason, and seemed about to come over to me when understanding suddenly lit his face. He had, quite obviously, just remembered what Gandalf had said about his return.  
  
"I think the troops could use some rallying. Maybe you and Theoden could lead a charge?" I said innocently to Aragorn, who arched an eyebrow before goign and proposing just that idea to Theoden. The king quickly agreed, and made some comment about dieing honorably, then Aragorn and Theoden's horses were found and brought into the hall - how, I still don't know - and they mounted, then charged out. I hauled myself to my feet, and Boromir, Haldir and I followed them, along with the Rohirrim that had come with us.  
  
When I stepped out into the fighting, again, however, my senses reeled. The stench, which had been dampened in the hall, along with the sounds, came back full blast, and my stomach churned as a headache sprang up in my head. I raised my sword and made as if to attack a nearby Orc, but then stopped and shook my head slightly. I was not going to fight while in danger of throwing up at any second, and besides that, I couldn't concentrate with my headache.  
  
"I have to go back inside." I told Boromir heavily. "I've had it with fighting for today." He glanced at me, concerned, but nodded, then I turned to Haldir.  
  
"Bring him back alive, or your death-that-didn't-happen will suddenly happen." I hissed in the Elf's ear, and he looked at me, surprised, then nodded.  
  
"I cannot believe the Lady would order the breaking of a pair such as you, besides." Haldir replied, and I looked at him strangely.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
  
"Elves see many things humans do not." Haldir said mysteriously. "But that is a discussion for another time."  
  
"Indeed." I said, feeling my stomach close to emptying itself, and I dashed back inside the hall. When I entered, the servants inside looked at me strangely. I was apparently slightly greenish, however, since they quickly came over and started murmuring supposedly comforting words and leading me towards where the wounded that had been brought in were being tended. Their speaking however, was more painful then helpful, as every word they mumbled made my headache flare. They stopped speaking, finally, when I managed a groan and hold my head. But the headache kept growing, and as I was blinded by the pain, it occurred to me that the pain of the headache was almost...pulsing.  
  
I was vaguely aware when I was set down on the floor, but blackness clouded my vision, and I saw everything as shadows, pulsing in and out of visibility with the pain of my head. Then I cried out as the pain flared, and my vision went blood red. I slammed my eyes shut, and then...  
  
I have to give the movie makers credit, they did a wonderful job with Sauron's eye, trying to make it look imposing, and the actors did very good at expressing the terror it set in ones mind. But what they couldn't capture was the malleable EVIL that radiated from the thing, and the heat - they couldn't capture that. I felt like I was burning to a crisp, like I'd been stuck in the center of the sun. And the evil - oh god, I've never felt anything so terrible. There wasn't a speck of good within it, and under it's gaze, no good could exist. And the terror and evil only became stronger when he spoke.  
  
//So you are who is at the center of the ripples.// The voice said, sounding amused. The voice was oily, and SOUNDED evil, if something can actually sound evil. If you've ever given thought to what the devil would sound like - that's what Sauron sounds like.  
  
//I had expected someone greater - of more power. But no matter. I will defeat your spirit and you will tell me what I want to know, whatever your strength.//  
  
"Like hell." I spat, working up some courage.  
  
//Ah, but hell is a much more agreeable place then you would think, child.// There was harsh laughter, and I cringed. Abruptly, the laughter stopped, and the voice continued, sounding pleased. //Good. You already fear me.//  
  
"I cringe only from your evil. I do not fear you - you cannot harm me while I am still at Helm's Deep." I said, working up more courage as that thought sprang into my mind.  
  
//True, I may not be able to harm your body. But I have caught your spirit, and now it is mine to do with as I wish.// The laugh came again, and the tenuous hold I had on my courage wavered.  
  
"Gandalf will be in Helm's Deep soon - he'll be able to fight you." I said, trying to hold onto my courage. The voice laughed again.  
  
//Gandalf Greyhame! That petty wizard - he cannot stand against me. His betters died fighting me the last time I rose! None can stand against me, unless they wield my ring. Now tell me child, where is that ring?//  
  
"Aw, the all-powerful sorcerer lost his pretty little ring and can't find it again." I said, clinging to sarcasm as a last false courage.  
  
//Do not toy with me child - I hold your spirit, and I can make you feel such torment as you never have before!// The flames around the eye flared, and I raised my hand to shade my eyes against it. I blinked when I realized I had a hand to shade my eyes with, then got caught up in realizing that I had an entire rest of my body.  
  
//WHERE IS THE RING?// The voice roared suddenly, apparently annoyed with my complete non-caring. The brief interlude had let my mind order itself, however, and when I looked up, it suddenly occurred to me how absurd this scene was. Me, talking to a giant eyeball in the middle of a bunch of black, and the giant eyeball wanted a ring. I started cackling.  
  
"You want a ring? Where are you gonna wear it? You're a giant eyeball!" I gasped out while laughing, and the fire behind the eye flared again. I stopped abruptly, however, when pain shot through me, and I gasped at its strength.  
  
//Do not mock me! I could kill you where you stand - the death of ones spirit will cause the death of ones body!// the voice roared through the pain.  
  
"Oh, go fuck an orc." I gasped, then smirked as the pain faltered. Apparently Sauron had no clue what 'fuck' meant. Though he obviously realized it was an insult, as the pain came back, strong as ever. It seemed like years passed in searing pain. And then it was gone, and I collapsed on the 'ground', gasping.  
  
//Do you wish to die, child?// the voice asked, low and menacing.  
  
"Well, you see, it's like this." I said slowly as I recovered, sitting up. "If I don't tell you where the ring is, your gonna kill me. And if I tell you where the ring is, you're going to take over all Middle-Earth, drive out all that is good and make it a generally horrible place for me to live in. Either choice isn't very good. But, if I don't tell you where the ring is, then there's a chance that you will lose, and Middle-Earth will be saved. So I'll just let you kill me, and hope that someone realizes how I died, and sings a song about me sacrificing myself for a world that isn't mine." There was silence.  
  
//If you tell me where the ring is, I will send you home.// The voice said, sounding as if it had just realized something extremely clever. I laughed.  
  
"Threats as rewards don't work very well." I said sarcastically. There was more silence.  
  
//You are a strange one, child.// Sauron's voice said finally. //But I will find your weakness, and you will tell me where the ring is.// I snorted, and then, to my surprise, the eye faded out, and I slipped into blackness and lost consciousness. 


	14. From Rohan to Gondor

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chapters.  
  
~ Chapter XIV~  
  
~ From Rohan to Gondor ~  
  
When consciousness returned to my mind later, I knew immediately that I wasn't still trapped by Sauron - or at least, he'd let me go for now. After all, what would I be doing riding on a horse in front of someone if Sauron still had me caught? I flicked an eye open just to reassure myself, and upon seeing ground speeding by on the sides and the dark brown head of a horse in front of me, promptly closed my eye and went to sleep.  
  
I woke later when the movement of the horse had stopped. I was lying on a floor, now, with a blanket over me. Cracking open an eye, I saw that I was inside a building of some sort, curled up in a corner. I couldn't see much more then the wall right in front of me, so I shifted so I could see the rest of the room.  
  
The room was rather small, looking like a guard house more then anything else - though a guard of what, I don't know. I knew I wasn't in Helm's Deep anymore - at the rate the horse had been going at, we had to be pretty far away from Helm's Deep by now. I also knew we weren't in Edoras - the building structure was different. Besides that, someone who was obviously NOT Rohirrim was standing just within sight outside of the single door.  
  
Curious as to where I was, I took stock of my injuries, and discovered that, to my amazement, I was quite alright - no headache, even. I was, however, incredibly hungry. So, with the motivations of food and curiosity, I tossed back the blanket - which I now realized was actually Boromir's cloak that he had given to me on Caradhas - and stood, stretching. I grabbed the cloak and put it over my shoulders - we were barely getting out of winter, after all - and went over to the door.  
  
"Where am I?" I asked the guard standing out there, after a quick glance around me told me I'd never seen this countryside before.  
  
"Gondor." the guard replied. I blinked.  
  
"Who came with me?" I asked.  
  
"Lord Boromir. He's down below." the guard replied, nodding to a set of steps that I hadn't noticed, going down around the outside of the tower.  
  
"Ah. Thanks." I said, and followed the steps down. They eventually led to the ground, and there was another door, which was partially open, and inside I could hear two voices talking, too low for me to tell if one was Boromir's. I pushed the door the rest of the way open and went in, anyways. Instantly, the talk stopped, and the three men in the room - Boromir and two others dressed as the guard above had been - turned to see who was in the door.  
  
"Ah, you're awake!" Boromir said, smiling widely.  
  
"Yes indeed. And I'd very much like some food and to know why we're in Gondor." I said. The three men were sitting on chairs in the center of the room, around a table, Boromir on his own side, the two other men on the other side. I now plunked myself down in the one available chair next to Boromir and looked at him expectantly. I heard one of the other men stifle a laugh. Then the two men excused themselves and disappeared outside, and Boromir turned to me.  
  
"Which do you want first?" he asked, clearly amused, once the men were gone.  
  
"Food please." I replied promptly, and my stomach backed me up by growling. Boromir got up and found some food for me, then set it in front of me and waited while I ate. As I was finishing, he started explaining what had happened. The majority of it, I knew - Gandalf, Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli going off to Isengard, for example. But there were a few things I didn't know about.  
  
"Theoden bid me take a message to my father that the Rohirrim would come as soon as they were able, and I was to leave for Minas Tirith as they were going to Isengard. Gandalf said you were out of danger by the time we were ready set off, and so told me to bring you with me. That was two days ago." Boromir said, and I nodded. Then, I couldn't help asking about Haldir.  
  
"Did Haldir go back to Lothlorien?" I asked, and I saw Boromir stiffen slightly.  
  
"Yes, he did." Boromir replied, and there was a strange tinge to his voice that I hadn't heard before. "And he insisted on taking the Lady's gift to you with him."  
  
"Oh good." I said, sighing. "That's one sword I never want to see again."  
  
"So you asked him to take it back with him?" Boromir asked, curious.  
  
"No, but I'm glad he did." I replied. There was silence for a bit while Boromir looked thoughtful.  
  
"In the battle you told me you would not use that sword even if it was your only weapon with which to face the Dark Lord himself, and now you are glad that Haldir has taken it back with him to Lothlorien." Boromir said, thoughtfully, then glanced at me. "The rest of the Fellowship prizes their gifts - why do you hate yours so?"  
  
"That, I'm afraid, I can't tell you. Suffice it to say it was given for a reason which I don't like." I replied with a sigh, and Boromir looked at me thoughtfully again. "Stop looking so thoughtful." I grumbled after a bit, and then Boromir smiled.  
  
"My apologies." he said. "But there is much to think about."  
  
"Think about it when all that's left of Sauron is dust motes. Cuz if you think about it too much now, you're just gonna get depressed. And that's rather useless." I said. Boromir chuckled.  
  
"It is indeed. But sometimes thinking about events can help you realize something you otherwise wouldn't have." he said.  
  
"For you. If I think about what's going on too long, I'm just gonna wanna ride back to Rivendell and hide there until this is aaaaaaaaall over." I said, and made a face. Boromir chuckled again.  
  
"There's no need to be worried - I've talked with Aragorn, and there is hope yet for Middle-Earth if his plans succeed." he said.  
  
"Well, since I haven't seen one of Aragorn's plans fail yet, then there's still hope for Middle-Earth!" I said cheerily. I had been more referring to Gandalf and Galadriel's wrath when I told them I'd changed the quest by saving the lives of TWO people who were supposed to die, but I couldn't very well tell Boromir that.  
  
"So, when are we setting out?" I asked, glancing around. It was about mid-afternoon now, and I knew that Minas Tirith was still a good ways away.  
  
"Not until tomorrow. Both horse and rider are too weary to go on for now." Boromir said, and for a moment he looked rather haggard. I leaned over and gave him a light kiss, and he smiled tiredly back at me. I realized, however, that we needed to leave sooner. The battle at Minas Tirith wouldn't wait for us - indeed, it would gladly happen without us, since we weren't even supposed to be there, anyways.  
  
"I think we need to leave tonight, Boromir." I said gravely. "Minas Tirith needs your help. And the Nazgul will soon cross the Anduin, if they haven't already - it isn't safe to travel during the day anymore." Boromir looked at me curiously, but by now knew better to ask when I came up with some cryptic piece of knowledge. Then his expression turned thoughtful again.  
  
"I suppose we could take one of the guards horses and leave this evening." he said.  
  
"Good, but it would be better if we had two horses." I said, and Boromir nodded, and I followed him as he rose and left the room. Outside, the two guards who had been in the room when I'd gone in were standing a little ways off, talking to each other.  
  
"We have need of horses - we must ride tonight." Boromir told then, and they glanced at each other.  
  
"Surely it would be safer to ride during the day?" one of the guards asked.  
  
"I'd rather risk a horse stumbling in the dark then risk a Nazgul spotting us." I replied for Boromir. The guards eyes went wide, and I knew we had our horses. Sure enough, as the sun was starting to dip beneath the horizon, Boromir appeared on the top of the guard tower, where I was looking at the countryside, and told me it was time for us to leave. Within a few minutes, we were off.  
  
Sometime during the night, a Nazgul passed over us. I wouldn't have known, except for the fact that the horses started snorted and rolling their eyes, and Boromir glanced nervously at the sky. I think that was the closest to scared I'd ever seen him. For some reason, though, the Nazgul didn't affect me. None the less, I was glad when the Nazgul passed over us. My horse calmed down a lot, and the feeling that Boromir and his horse were going to take off at a mad gallop faded.  
  
When the sky began to lighten, we came within sight of a small town, and Boromir managed to find us someplace to stay for the day. For my part, I mostly sat and listened. Boromir may have been home with his kinsmen - all of whom greeted him joyously enough, considering the times - but this was a new place for me, and it was one I wanted to learn more about. I slept only a little, during the heat of the afternoon, but the rest of the village, as well as Boromir, slept even less. The Nazgul passed over the village several times during the day, sending animals into panic, with the humans close behind them. I pitied the children in the village - in this world, the boogyman and the monster in your closet could very well be real. Well, they don't have closets in Middle-Earth, but close enough.  
  
Finally, the sun began to set, and when it dipped finally beneath the horizon, Boromir and I set out again. It was another hard night of riding, and near the end of it, the beacons of Gondor were lit. They made an eerie sight, pinpricks of red light against the lightening night sky. When Boromir saw them, he kicked his horse into a gallop, and I followed.  
  
There was no building near enough for us to reach before daybreak when the sun began to rise, so we rode into the nearest clump of trees and tied the horses securely to trees. Boromir set about making a small fire to cook some food on, but he looked tired, and I told him to rest while I did it. He almost refused, but I backed it up with a please and a kiss, and five minutes later, he was asleep.  
  
I started a small fire, and cooked some of the food we had packed. Boromir awoke long enough to eat before falling back asleep, and I smiled slightly as I set about putting out the fire and cleaning up the relative mess I'd made making the food. When I was done, I found myself my own patch of ground and lay down to get some rest. I probably should have stayed up to keep watch, but I found that I was rather tired, myself.  
  
I woke later in the day, hungry, to find that it was starting to get dark. Boromir was still fast asleep, so I set about making a small fire again to make some more food. When I was done, Boromir still hadn't woken up, so I went over to him and stared at him for a few minutes. Not a very unpleasant job, I must admit. Though he had obviously been traveling for the past week without a pause to get clean, he still managed to look cute. Of course, people always look cute when they're asleep. Except for Legolas. He just looked creepy, sleeping with his eyes open. But my staring at Boromir worked, anyways - he woke up after only a few minutes.  
  
"Sky's getting dark, food's ready." I said when I saw Boromir crack an eye open. He got up, and we ate. Then he insisted on cleaning up the camp while I got the horses ready. When we were done, we were off again. Almost immediately, a Nazgul passed over us, and I saw Boromir's teeth clench. He kicked his horse into a gallop again, and I followed once more.  
  
Around the middle of the night, we came to a large wall of stone. Boromir glanced along it, and, seeing a gateway farther down, turned and galloped towards the gate. When we reached it, he called something out to the guards that I couldn't understand, and we galloped straight through. We continued at various paces for the rest of the night, generally going as fast as we could, and found another village to stay in for the day. The day was spent with us sleeping and eating, and then we were off again in the night.  
  
Sometime during the night, I'm pretty sure Gandalf and Pippin passed us on Shadowfax. At least, I saw a silvery blur out of the corner of my eye. I would have dismissed it as just my eyes playing tricks on me, but when the next night came and we still hadn't seen Gandalf, I knew it had to have been him, since he was to have arrived in Minas Tirith that day.  
  
Once more we spent the day sleeping and eating, then were off again at dusk. As the sky darkened, it seemed that clouds rolled out from the south, towards Mordor, and even the light of the stars was blocked out.  
  
"There will be no dawn today." I said softly during once of Boromir and my's brief rests, and Boromir looked at me as I stared at the sky. "We must reach Minas Tirith tonight." I said after a moment, then swung myself up onto my horse, and Boromir did so as well. For once, it was I who kicked my horse into a gallop, and Boromir was the one who followed. 


	15. Minas Tirith

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Blerg. *points previous chapters* What they said.  
  
~ Chapter XV~  
  
~ Minas Tirith ~  
  
We reached Minas Tirith early the next morning, sometime before what would have been sunrise. We entered quietly, with Boromir hiding within his Elven cloak so as not to be recognized. He had said something about not wishing to be held up when I'd asked him. But as it was, we were still delayed when Gandalf suddenly appeared in front of us. Boromir looked startled, but I just waved to the wizard.  
  
"Hi Gandalf." I said, and Gandalf nodded at me before walking briskly over to Boromir's horse. The two talked quietly for a few moments, and then Gandalf stepped away, turning his attention to me.  
  
"I am afraid you will have to wait to meet Boromir's father, Lady Erin. I need to speak with you, and I do not have much time." Gandalf said, and I nodded.  
  
"I will find you once I have spoken with my father, Erin." Boromir said, steering his horse back towards me and catching my hand. He smiled at me, and I was glad I was sitting on a horse, because otherwise I was quite sure my knees would have given way. Then he let my hand go and kicked his horse into a trot, his attention now focused on reaching his father. When Boromir was out of sight, I turned to Gandalf to see him looking at me in a thoughtful way which I did not like. I had a very nasty feeling Galadriel had already beat me to the punch in telling Gandalf about Boromir, though the wizard had not mentioned it.  
  
"Come, let us find someplace more private to talk." Gandalf said suddenly, glancing around and seeming to notice that there were people, albeit a very few, on the streets. I steered my horse to follow him, and gradually we made our way to the house in which Gandalf and Pippin were staying. Tying the horse out front, we went in, and Gandalf sat down by the banked fire, motioning for me to join him.  
  
"As I'm sure you know, I traveled through Lothlorien after my battle with the Balrog." Gandalf began, getting right to the point. "When I was there, I had a most interesting talk with the Lady Galadriel." Gandalf looked at me with a piercing gaze, as if trying to use Galadriel's ability to read minds. "I believe I asked you to inform either Aragorn or I when something went too far astray in the quest from what you knew was to happen."  
  
"Indeed. But I haven't had the opportunity." I replied.  
  
"You know very well that there were many opportunities - the success of the quest merits an interruption into ANY conversation." Gandalf told me sternly. I didn't have an answer for that, so I just stayed silent. "You have the opportunity now to tell me." Gandalf pointed out after awhile, and I sighed.  
  
"Boromir and Haldir are both alive when they're not supposed to be." I said, and Gandalf seemed startled that I said two names.  
  
"Both were supposed to die?" Gandalf asked.  
  
"Yes. Boromir was supposed to be tempted by the ring and try to take it at Amon Hen before dieing while defending Merry and Pippin from the Orcs. Haldir was supposed to die on the wall at Helm's Deep." I answered.  
  
"Why did this not happen?" Gandalf asked, an unreadable mixture of expressions on his face.  
  
"Boromir was not tempted by the ring because he has fallen for me, and I was there to help him defend Merry and Pippin, actually taking one of the arrows meant to kill him. Haldir didn't die because I took him off the wall to help me find Boromir, who had been on the wall when it had blown up." I answered. Gandalf stared into the fire for a few moments.  
  
"You have willfully changed the quests path." he said after awhile, and I drew a ragged breath.  
  
"Only in saving Boromir." I replied.  
  
"And yet, in choosing to do so, you have changed many things. The changes you have caused will spread and create more changes, getting ever larger, more significant, and harder to control, like ripples in a pond." Gandalf said, and suddenly Sauron's first words to me came back.  
  
'So you are who is at the center of the ripples.' The oily voice came back to me clear as if the eye was right in front of me, and I shuddered involuntarily. Gandalf glanced at me.  
  
"What is it, child?" he asked.  
  
"Sauron - he said something about ripples, as well." I said softly, and Gandalf's expression softened.  
  
"Ah yes. The other reason I wished to speak with you." he said. "Sauron is very powerful, Erin, and if even Galadriel is able to detect that the quest does not go as it should, then Sauron will know exactly what is not and why it isn't happening as it should. Perhaps I should have warned you sooner, but I believed your presence would not cause changes."  
  
"Fool of a wizard." I mumbled to myself, then grinned as Gandalf looked at me questioningly.  
  
"What was that, Lady Erin?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing I'd care to repeat." I said cheerfully, and Gandalf eyed me.  
  
"I will not press then." he said. "I would, however, like to know of what Sauron spoke to you about."  
  
"Want a complete blow-by-blow account of what happened? It's burned in my mind so strongly I can't forget it, anyways." I said dryly, and Gandalf nodded.  
  
"Yes, please tell me all you can remember." he said, and so I told him the tale, starting from where I'd gone back into Theodens hall with a headache and an upset stomach. When I was done, Gandalf nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"You did well, though despite your best attempts, he has learned something he shouldn't." he said, and I looked at Gandalf in surprise.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"I will not tell you, for it will do you no good to brood over it." Gandalf replied. "For now, I must go wake Pippin and take him to Denethor. He has sworn himself as a soldier of Gondor, you know."  
  
"Oh, he has!" I said happily. "That's wonderful! This quest seems to be going along it's proper course even without my help!"  
  
"Perhaps you are helping subconsciously." Gandalf said gravely as he rose. "For even Pippin could not cite a reason as to why he swore himself as a soldier of Gondor. And Aragorn has told me that Frodo seemed slightly confused as to why he was so determined to go off to Mordor by himself."  
  
"Are you saying that I'm, like, affecting what people decide to do somehow?" I asked, cocking my head to one side, and Gandalf nodded.  
  
"It is very possible." he said. "Galadriel herself has said that she felt some deep power within you." I blinked.  
  
"OK, that is just FREAKY." I said.  
  
"But very possible. From what little I know of your world, I know that there is no magic there. Indeed, there could even be something there that stops magic from occurring. But here magic is quite common - and it could be that you have some magical talent that is surfacing only now once you are away from your magicless world." Gandalf said.  
  
"Like I said - freaky." I commented. "Go wake up Pippin before you freak me out anymore." Gandalf smiled.  
  
"If you will prepare some breakfast for us, then I shall go wake Pippin." he said, and I rolled my eyes.  
  
"There's always a catch." I said. "Oh well - point me in the direction of the food to be prepared, and I'll do my best." Gandalf told me where the kitchen was, and then disappeared to wake Pippin up. He reappeared a minute or so later, closely followed by the hobbit.  
  
"Lady Erin!" Pippin said happily, rushing over and giving me a hug. "It is so good to see you again!"  
  
"It's good to see you, as well, Pippin. Did you have fun with Treebeard?" I asked, and Pippin looked up at me in surprise, but then shook his head, obviously thinking I'd learned about the Ent from Gandalf.  
  
"Yes, it was quite interesting." the hobbit said. "What's for breakfast?"  
  
"Bread, milk, butter, and...well, actually, that's it." I said, and Pippin and I made a face at the same time.  
  
"That's not a very wholesome breakfast." Pippin said.  
  
"I know - I ate better on my ride here." I replied. "But it's all there is in this house."  
  
"And it is all there will be for quite awhile. Food is now doled out by order, and this must last you until lunch." Gandalf said, and Pippin's face fell. It fell even more when he saw the amounts of the food I set in front of him.  
  
"Why did you bring me here?" he asked Gandalf.  
  
"You know quite well," Gandalf replied. "To keep you out of mischief; and if you do not like being here, you can remember you brought it on yourself." Pippin didn't reply to that, and we finished our breakfast in silence. Then Gandalf and Pippin excused themselves.  
  
"I am afraid you will be very much on your own today, Lady Erin." Gandalf said just before he left. "For, though I'm sure Boromir will want to come find you, his father has need of him, and I do not believe he will be able to get away any time soon."  
  
"I'll take the opportunity to wander around and get myself lost." I said dryly. "As for you - watch the gates. Faramir is coming." Gandalf nodded, and he and Pippin left. I stood outside the house for a moment, glancing about, wondering what to do, and then yawned tiredly.  
  
"Well, that's decided." I said cheerily, and disappeared back inside the house to sleep.  
  
---  
  
I woke later to hear a horrible screeching noise on the wind - like fingernails on chalkboard, only worse. I jumped up, and, after listening for a moment, determined that it had to be a Nazgul, which meant Faramir was arriving. I looked down at myself critically, and decided that, as much as I'd love to go see Gandalf scare off the Nazgul, I'd never make it in time, and I needed to get changed and cleaned up, besides. The rest of the Fellowship could handle being dirty - I, however, felt like I had an inch of grime on me, and it was not a pleasant feeling.  
  
After exploring the house, I discovered a bathtub, as well as a well for water. Realizing I'd have to go about preparing a bath the hard way, I set some water to boil, then wondered about what I'd have to change into. I realized, then, that somehow my pack had made it here, and it was now resting in the corner of the main room. I figured Gandalf must have brought it with him, and I dug through it to see what it now contained.  
  
The sword from Galadriel, as Boromir had said it would be, was missing. There was some lembas in there still, however, along with random pieces of equipment that I'd been carrying when traveling with the Fellowship. My sword from Gandalf was also in there, as was a large collection of very muddy and dirty clothes. There was, however, a few pieces of clean clothing - enough for an outfit, thankfully.  
  
I realized, as I was pouring the water into the tub, that it was really actually quite silly to get myself clean, since I was just going to get myself extremely dirty and muddy when the orcs attacked in a few days. But I shrugged. I needed a break from the chaos that was Middle-Earth at the moment, and there was no better way to take a break then to have a nice relaxing bath. It did, however, take awhile to fill the tub. Which was actually fine, since it took me almost all that time to find some soap. Finally, however, the tub was full, and I stripped off my dirty clothes and slipped into the water, sighing happily. It was good to be warm again.  
  
When I was done my bath, I got dressed in the clean clothes I'd found in my pack, then tried to sort out my hair. I really did not spend much time on my hair - never had - but having it in knots was too much for even me. It took me a good while, but I had it mostly sorted out when I heard the sound of a knock from the door downstairs. I headed down and opened the door to find Pippin there.  
  
"Lord Denethor wants to see you." he said promptly when I opened the door, and I chuckled.  
  
"Alright then." I said. "Let's go." Pippin looked surprised as my prompt response, but then nodded, and we set off. Pippin was silent for a total of ten steps before he started talking and asking questions. Grinning, I answered his questions and listened to him talk, enjoying the company of the bubbly hobbit.  
  
"One thing I like about this place, Lady Erin - you can't get lost in it. Or at least, it's very hard, especially if you're walking outside. On the inside it gets trickier, but one can learn their way about well enough if they pay attention." Pippin commented as we approached the Citadel.  
  
"I'm sure I'll still manage to get lost without a guide." I commented dryly.  
  
"Then we shall just have to make sure you are never without a guide." Boromir's voice came from beside us as we approached the gate to the Citadel, causing me to jump.  
  
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" I complained, but smiled to take the edge off it.  
  
"I would not be able to if you kept your ears open instead of listening solely to a talkative hobbit." Boromir teased.  
  
"I resent that." Pippin commented.  
  
"Hush now, no talking back to your superiors!" I said, waggling a finger at Pippin, and Boromir grinned as well. We continued along, teasing each other back and forth and generally having the best time we'd had since the Fellowship set out from Rivendell, until finally we came to some large doors. From the way Boromir and Pippin immediately went serious, I knew that beyond the doors was Denethor, and mentally prepared myself. Denethor, in the book, had always seemed to be a scary crazy old guy to me, and that really wasn't helped by the fact that he burned himself to death in the end. So it was with some nervousness on my part that I entered the hall behind Boromir and Pippin.  
  
"Ah, you have finally returned!" Denethor said warmly as we entered, and I blinked. I realized that it figured he'd be cheerier then in the book, since Boromir hadn't died, and prepared myself for anything. As Boromir greeted his father again, I took the time to note that Gandalf was in the hall, along with another man who looked so much like both Boromir and Denethor, while still managing to look different, that it could be no other then Faramir, Boromir's younger brother.  
  
"And this, father, is the Lady Erin, one of the traveling companions that I have told you about." Boromir finished, and Denethor turned to me. I considered bowing, but decided not to, having had enough of strange looks. Instead I waved.  
  
"Yo." I said. I saw Gandalf shake his head, and I swear I heard Boromir stifle a laugh. Denethor, for his part, looked at me just as strangely as he would have if I had bowed. Then he seemed to be sizing me up, and I shifted my weight from one foot to another in the silence.  
  
"Many interesting things I have heard and seen about you, Lady." Denethor said finally.  
  
"Once more I repeat - unless it has to do with getting lost, I didn't do it." I said seriously, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pippin struggling to keep a straight face. Denethor, for his part, raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Then you would call my son and Mithrandir liars?" he asked, and I eyed him, trying to figure out if he was serious.  
  
"No, I would call myself confused." I said finally, and to my surprise, Denethor smiled.  
  
"I wondered why Mithrandir had let a woman come along on such a perilous journey, but now I see the wisdom behind his ways." he said, and I blinked. That was actually quite an odd comment to come from him. In the book, he'd always seemed to be warring with Gandalf, trying to prove himself the wizards equal, but never succeeding. Yet here he was admitting that the wizard was right about something. The comment also made me aware of the fact that Gandalf had not told him about where I'd come from - but then, that was no surprise. Only four people in Middle-Earth knew where I came from - possibly five - and I wasn't quite sure about Galadriel, or about how much she'd shared with Haldir. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I discovered that Boromir was now telling his father and brother of my many deeds.  
  
"Hey now, Haldir was the one who found your shield." I said in protest when Boromir over exaggerated my 'coming to his rescue' at Helm's Deep.  
  
"Ah yes, but he would not have found it if you had not had him looking for it." Boromir replied, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"And I wouldn't have been able to have him look for it if I hadn't, by some freakish chance, noticed that you were on the wall when it exploded." I said. "It was really luck."  
  
"All battles depend heavily on luck." Faramir commented. It was the first time I'd heard him speak, and his voice was startling. So much like Boromir's, and yet...there was a quality to it, like many years of experience lay behind it - sort of like Aragorn's when he decided to show his kingly heritage.  
  
"Then your brother's very lucky." I said.  
  
"He has proved that many times." Faramir said, and I saw a smile start to appear on his face. Somehow, Boromir managed to stop the conversation from turning towards his past deeds, and finished telling about what I had done. There was silence when he finished his story, and then Denethor turned to me.  
  
"You have had a great journey, Lady Erin, with many hardships. We shall have to talk again, soon. But for now, I am weary, as I know my sons must be." he said, suddenly looking as weary as he claimed. "Let us go and find rest as we may, tomorrow we shall look to the defenses of Gondor." Then he said goodbye to us all, and left the hall, us following quickly. Faramir almost immediately excused himself, seeming just as tired as his father. I glanced over at Boromir and realized he was almost asleep on his feet. It occurred to me, then, that while I'd had a chance to sleep and have a bath, Boromir had been talking with his father all day.  
  
"I think I'll help Boromir get back to his room without falling on his face." I said, turning to Gandalf, and the wizard nodded.  
  
"I will see you tomorrow, then." he said, and I said goodbye to Pippin as well before the hobbit and the wizard went off to their house in the city. Turning to Boromir, I eyed him.  
  
"You, sir, should have excused yourself and gotten some sleep." I said, and he smiled wryly.  
  
"It is as you said - Minas Tirith needs me. There was no time for rest." he said.  
  
"Well then lets go get you some rest now. With you to steer me in the right direction, and me to keep you upright to you don't end up asleep on the ground in some side passage, we'll get you to your bed." I said cheerfully, and Boromir chuckled.  
  
"Then let us go." he said, and we headed off. 


	16. Legolas's brother and Haldir's Return

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"Some forget it, but go far enough back in any House, and you'll find a commoner who showed uncommon courage or kept his head and took charge when everybody else was running around like plucked geese." - Lord Davram Bashere in 'Lord of Chaos', book 6 of 'The Wheel of Time' series by Robert Jordan  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
*sings* I own nothing nothing nothing, I own nothing all day long, I own absolutely nothing, now you know my nothing song! *ahem* Erin's mine.  
  
~ Chapter XVI~  
  
~ Legolas's brother and Haldir's Return ~  
  
Seeing as Boromir practically sleepwalked into bed, and there was no one around to show me the way out of the Citadel, I ended out sleeping in Boromir's room. It was quite nice to curl up next to him to sleep - I fell asleep almost instantly, despite the fact that I'd slept most of the afternoon. When I woke, it was to a loud knocking on the door. Boromir was still knocked out next to me, and didn't look like he was going to move soon, so I stood, straightened my clothes, and went to the door and opened it. The guard that was there eyed me strangely.  
  
"Lord Denethor requests the presence of his son, Boromir." the guard said after a moment, and I nodded.  
  
"Tell him Boromir will be there soon. Just as soon as I wake him up. Which might take awhile." I said dryly, glancing back at Boromir, who had begun to snore softly. The guard gave a slight bow, then headed off down the hall. I closed the door and turned back to Boromir. I woke him up nicely, with no tickling or staring at him involved - in fact, it mostly involved kissing various parts of his face, which was quite enjoyable. Even more enjoyable was the good morning kiss that followed.  
  
"Your father requests your presence," I said softly when we broke away from each other, and Boromir sighed.  
  
"Then I suppose I must go to him," he said, getting up. He stretched, and I grinned as he absently stripped off his shirt and set about finding a cleaner one. Boromir shirtless? Yummy! Eventually, much to my dismay, he found a shirt, and motioned for me to follow as he headed out. He led the way to the hall where Denethor was waiting, and there we found that Gandalf and Pippin were waiting for us.  
  
"I believe it would be best if you were at this meeting, Lady Erin, but it seems Lord Denethor does not agree. You shall have to spend the day with Pippin, or about on your own." Gandalf said when we arrived. I nodded, then pulled the wizard off to one side.  
  
"Faramir must go to Osgiliath." I said softly. The wizard nodded, then disappeared inside the hall. Boromir delayed long enough to quickly kiss my hand, making me smile, then he followed Gandalf, and Pippin and I were left in the hall. The hobbit smiled at me, and we set off down the hall. Once we left the Citadel, Pippin started talking, and I accompanied him to his post on the walls. There, I met Beregond, who, after seeing a halfling walk straight out of legend, was accepting of a woman in Elvish clothing who could fight.  
  
I stayed there, up on the wall, leaving only to eat and fetch my weapons from where Gandalf and Pippin were staying, for the entire day. Beregond did find that a little bit strange, but I didn't care. The wall had a great view, and besides, I could see who was coming and going. To my delight, Faramir was indeed to one who set off for Osgiliath. Boromir was initially riding beside his brother, and for a moment I wondered if he was going, as well, but he turned back at the gate and headed back to the Citadel. I considered following him, but if Denethor hadn't wanted me at the meeting at the beginning, he probably wouldn't want me there now.  
  
When night fell, I went with Pippin back to the house where he and Gandalf were staying and slept there. The next day I followed Pippin once more to the wall, and spent the day there as before. Early in the morning, Faramir was forced to retreat to the Causeway Forts, and then from behind the walls approached another host of men, led by Boromir. Excusing myself, I ran down from the wall, and appeared in front of the gate as Boromir and his men approached it.  
  
"I must ride out to help my brother, Lady Erin." Boromir said, riding over to me.  
  
"Then I'll come with you." I said promptly. If I was out there, perhaps I could help ensure that what little I knew of the battle went as it should. And I was worried for Boromir. Faramir was supposed to be wounded in this fight - but Boromir wasn't even supposed to be in it. He could very well end up dead.  
  
"No." Boromir said firmly, and I blinked at him. "You fought well as Helm's Deep - I know you can handle yourself in a battle. This is but a small skirmish, however, a delay before we are besieged. I would feel better to know that you were back here, safe." His tone was firm, but his eyes pleaded with me to understand. I sighed.  
  
"I will stay, because you have asked me to." I said. "But you are going to haul your butt back here without a major scratch, or I'll tie you to a tree for the rest of the war!" Several of the men in the company, who were close enough to hear, chuckled, and Boromir smiled wryly. "I'm not kidding, Boromir. I have a hobbit and wizard who would be more then glad to help." I said warningly, and he nodded.  
  
"I will come back without a 'major scratch'." he said reassuringly, then leaned down and kissed me lightly on the cheek. He straightened, and with a last smile in my direction, spurred his horse forward, leaving me to move off to the side as his men followed him. Sighing, I climbed back up to the wall and looked out, watching as Boromir and his men made their way to where Faramir and his men were slowly retreating from the onslaught of the Orcs.  
  
I bit my lip as I watched, worried, but I knew there was nothing I could do, especially after I'd told Boromir I'd stay here. As the day blended into night, the swan-knights of Dol Amroth and their Prince rode out to help the host led by Faramir and Boromir as it retreated. Then the Nazgul came, and Gandalf showed himself once more. Finally, the moment I dreaded came. The companies came back, and I strained my eyes, leaning out over the wall, to see if Faramir was at the companies head.  
  
He wasn't. And neither was Boromir. I was relieved in that, at least, but worried. Faramir was supposed to be wounded, but I had not idea as to the part that Boromir was supposed to play in this battle, and it struck me again that he could very well have died. But there, at the back, he came riding, next to Prince Imrahil, and in front of him on his horse was his brother, wounded. At this, I said a quick goodbye to Pippin and Beregond, then dashed off the wall and headed up towards the Citadel. I reached the gates of the Citadel at the same time as Boromir and Prince Imrahil, and followed them in as they took Faramir to Denethor.  
  
When they entered the hall where Denethor was waiting, I saw him turn, a smile on his face, ready to congratulate his sons, but then he saw who Boromir was carrying. The Steward's face went deathly pale, and I saw him swallow as his face fell to one of grief. Then he walked, jerkily, over to Boromir, and took his sons body. His eyes closed, and I swear I saw a tear glistening in the corner of them. Then his eyes opened once more, and he started snapping out orders. Faramir was taken to the healing hall, and I would have stayed in the hall with Denethor, Imrahil and Boromir, but Boromir asked me to go to the healing hall and keep an eye on his brother for him. I hesitated when he asked, but then nodded, and caught Boromir's hand and gave it a squeeze before heading out of the hall. The servants carrying Faramir were still in sight, thankfully, and I caught up with them and followed them.  
  
When we reached the healing hall, the healers immediately set about doing what they could for the young lord of Gondor, but I shook my head as I watched. I knew they wouldn't be able to do anything - only Aragorn would be able to heal Faramir. Ioreth, the famous old healer from the book that never shut up, appeared beside me when I shook my head, and looked at me curiously.  
  
"Have hope, Lady. The healers are most skilled, I am sure they will have Lord Faramir healed in no time." she said.  
  
"Only the hands of a King will heal Faramir now." I said, then took a deep breath and glanced about. I hated hospitals. I'd only been in one once - when my grandmother had died - and it had scared me then. This healing hall was no hospital, but still, it reminded me of a hospital. I suddenly couldn't bear to stay in there any longer, even though Boromir had asked me to watch his brother for him.  
  
"Please tell me if there is any change." I said, catching the sleeve of one of the healers congregating around Faramir, and he absently nodded. Oh well, it would do. I slipped out into the gardens that came off of the hall, and looked out over the city. I watched the people scurry about below, and afternoon faded into evening. Just as the gate was about to shut, I realized that there was a column of riders - going very fast - approaching the city. Squinting in the darkness, I couldn't make out very much, but I heard the call that came up. The Fair People had come once again to honour the old alliances. Which meant - Elves.  
  
I dashed out of the healing hall, and headed straight for the Citadel. Inside, I somehow managed to find my way, without getting lost, to the hall where Boromir, Denethor and Imrahil were still talking, though Gandalf had since joined them. A look of alarm flashed across Boromir's face when I entered, breathless, apparently thinking something had happened to his brother, and he half rose, but then I caught my breath.  
  
"The Elves have come." I announced. "Less then there were at Helm's Deep, but they have come."  
  
"Whatever strength they have will help." Denethor said gravely, and he rose and headed out of the hall, with everyone following him. I stayed back by Boromir, who seemed to be not quite sure what to make of this new development. I'd thought he would be incredibly happy - I knew Minas Tirith was short on forces from what I'd read - but he almost looked like he was going to scowl instead of smile. To be sure, the rest of the group we were traveling with was smiling in some form or another - even Gandalf.   
  
When we left the Citadel, the Elves were just beginning to enter the city. We waited up at the entrance of the Citadel as the Elves rode up, managing to look graceful, well-rested and ready for battle, despite the fact that they'd just run the gauntlet to get in the city before the Orcs started the siege. To my surprise, I saw not only blonde, but several dark-haired elves in the company. Looking more closely, I realized I could see Elves from all three of the different realms - Mirkwood, Rivendell and Lothlorien. Which would explain why there were two leaders to the company.  
  
When the Elven riders were within about 20 feet of us, the company halted, and the two leaders dismounted and walked up. They bowed slightly to Denethor, and then let the hoods of their cloaks fall back. One looked like the spitting image of Legolas - he had to be a brother of the prince. The other was Haldir.  
  
They greeted Denethor, and made a similar speech to the one which Haldir had made to Theoden at Helm's Deep, and made excuses for Elrohir and Elladan's absence, saying they were currently on a quest of their own. Then it was Denethor's turn to welcome the Elves to the city and tell them how grateful we were for their arrival.  
  
Boromir sure didn't look grateful, though. As soon as the two leaders had shown their faces, his face had slid into the promised scowl, and he was not a happy looking Lord of Gondor. I elbowed him lightly and looked at him curiously. He glanced down at me and smiled slightly, then looked back out at the Elves and scowled again. After a moment, Haldir and the other leader - who actually was Legolas's younger brother, it turned out - turned to the company of Elves and said something in Elvish. Apparently it was a command to disperse, as the Elves suddenly broke off into little groups and went wandering off through the city.  
  
Then Haldir and the young Mirkwood prince turned back, and it was decided to go back into the Citadel to discuss the defense of the city with the addition of the Elves. I almost followed, but I realized it would not only be incredibly boring, but I was really at a loss as to where this battle was supposed to go, anyways, since several people had been added that shouldn't be there - heck, several companies of Elves had been added! So I went back to the healing hall and checked up on Faramir. He was doing as expected after being hit with a Nazgul dart - that is, not very good. There were a few Elven healers in the hall, now, and they'd helped as they could, but even they could not heal him completely.  
  
I headed out into the gardens, then, and watched as the darkness got darker. The Gate had been shut behind the Elves, and with the falling of night, the siege of Minas Tirith began. The sound of the orcs drifted in on the night wind, and I closed my eyes, trying to remind myself that everything would turn out right. The Rohirrim would come when they were needed, Aragorn would turn up at the last to defeat the orc army, and the free peoples would win. And that was without the help of the Elves. But as the sounds of the orc army going about their business floated in on the wind, and the unholy screeches of the Nazgul's and their mounts rang out over the city, I began to realize what was meant when Boromir had said it was long since they'd had any hope. 


	17. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"Give me a reason to kill you. Please?" - Major West, 'Lost in Space' (the movie) - to Doctor Smith   
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Erin's mine, the rest are not.  
  
~ Chapter XVII~  
  
~ The Battle of the Pelennor Fields ~  
  
I fell asleep sometime during the night. I don't know when. But I know I had to have fallen asleep, since you can't wake up without first falling asleep. Whenever I fell asleep, I was woken later to the calls of fire in the city. Groggily, sore and stiff for sleeping in a sitting position, I pulled myself to my feet and stared down at the city, to see that the entire first ring of the city was in flame. Men, and the few women who had stayed, were scrambling with buckets, but they stumbled in weariness, and in despair, for the Nazgul had come in force. I'd missed the heads of those already slain being thrown over the wall, thankfully, but now, seeing the city in chaos and despair, I decided it was time for me to find whoever was in charge.  
  
Entering the healing house from the gardens, I saw that more patients had sprung up out of the wood work. Hastily, I checked on Faramir, who was in just the same condition as before, and then rushed out. Outside, I glanced around. I remembered reading that Gandalf and Prince Imrahil walked around the city at about this time, and, hoping they were still doing so, I started off in a random direction. Amazingly, I hadn't gone very far before I came upon Gandalf, Prince Imrahil, Denethor, Boromir, Haldir and prince from Mirkwood walking along the street, deep in discussion. Pippin trailed along behind them, looking out of place, and he was the first to notice me as I approached them.  
  
"Lady Erin!" he cried happily, and I smiled at the hobbit. The lords, princes and wizard looked up when Pippin said my name, and I half-bowed to them.  
  
"Ah, Erin, it is good to see you." Gandalf said, motioning me to come closer, and Pippin's face fell slightly when he realized I'd be joining the group he was following as they talked, instead of walking and talking with him.  
  
"We were just discussing the defense of the city, and we seem to be having a dispute over when the Rohirrim will come. Perhaps you could help us out?" Gandalf asked, and from the way he glanced at me, I knew he was not asking for an opinion, but knowledge of the future.  
  
"I don't think I could be much help." I said dryly, and received a veiled glare from Gandalf. I grinned, then answered. "But I think the Rohirrim will come at dawn."  
  
"So soon?" Denethor asked, surprised.  
  
"Our most hopeful estimate was late afternoon." Prince Imrahil said skeptically.  
  
"Nonetheless, I trust the Lady Erin's estimation, Prince Imrahil." Gandalf said gravely.  
  
"As do I." Haldir put in. Imrahil paused, and then nodded. Boromir, Denethor and the Mirkwood prince accepted the estimation just as readily, with both Gandalf and Haldir backing it, and then they fell to discussing the defense of the city with the added might of the Rohirrim at dawn. Despite accepting the estimate, however, those that did not know that I came from a different world, Boromir included, seemed to be constantly glancing back at me, curiously or thoughtfully, as I walked beside Pippin. I pretended not to notice, however, as Pippin and I talked in low tones about various things. Then there came a loud boom from the gates, and the heads of the men in front of Pippin and I snapped up.  
  
"By Eru, what was that?" Haldir asked, alarmed.  
  
"The Witch King has come." I said with a sad smile. "Today to gates of Gondor break." The men glanced at me in alarm, and then set off at a run, in several different directions. Denethor and Legolas's brother, with Pippin following, went back to the Citadel, Imrahil headed off somewhere (presumably to his knights), Gandalf went off to find Shadowfax, which left Haldir, Boromir and I to dash down to the gate.  
  
By the time I reached the gate, I was ahead of Boromir and Haldir, who slowed for each of the Witch King's cries, which affected them, but not me. As I stood back from the gate, waiting for Boromir and Haldir to catch up, the Lord of the Nazgul cried a third and last time. The ram struck again, just as Boromir and Haldir caught up with me, and the gates burst.  
  
In rode the Lord of the Nazgul, looming up as a great black shape against the fires beyond the city walls, grown to a vast menace of despair. In he rode, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and the men of Gondor fled around me. Boromir and Haldir looked tempted to follow, indeed, they tried to convince me to come with them, but I stood firm in front of the Nazgul, just as Gandalf rode up on Shadowfax.  
  
"You cannot enter here," said Gandalf, halting the Lord of the Nazgul in his steps. "Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!" The Nazgul laughed, an evil laugh, but only a pale echo of Sauron, as he flung back his hood. Once more I was struck will the extreme hilarity of the situation - the Nazgul was invisible, and his crown was all that could be seen of his face. Memories of 'The Invisible Man', both the movie and the song, flashed through my head, and I sniggered slightly as I thought about how the Nazgul would react if he knew who I was mentally comparing him to. Boromir and Haldir looked at me strangely, and I turned my attention back to what was going on.  
  
"Old fool! This is my hour! Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!" The Nazgul was saying, and as he raised his sword, I spoke, a smile still twitching on my lips.  
  
"It is you who does not know Death when you see it, Witch King. Yes, this is your hour. Your hour to die." I said, and the Witch King looked at me in surprise. I imagine he was about to reply, but just then, I heard a faint cock crow, the sound of a lone rooster welcoming the day that could not be seen through the darkness. And as if in answer there came from far away the sound of horns. They echoed over the plains, the horns of the North, blown wildly, and I smiled, as did Gandalf.  
  
"Rohan is come!" Boromir called from behind me, startling me slightly, and with a last glance at the four that stood before him, the Lord of the Nazgul left the Gate and vanished.  
  
"Come, let us go ready to join the Rohirrim on the battle field!" Gandalf said to us, riding over. "Shadowfax, if you will consent to bear the lady, I have need to speak to Erin on the way to the Citadel." Shadowfax made a snort that sounded like consent, and Gandalf took my hand and hoisted me up onto the horses back.  
  
"Follow us as quickly as you can!" Gandalf told Haldir and Boromir, and then urged Shadowfax forward. Once we were riding, he spoke up again.  
  
"I have little time to speak, so I shall be blunt. I must go out to defeat the Witch King, but you must stay up in the Citadel in my place to advise Denethor - we shall have to tell him that you have knowledge of the future to get him to agree, I'm afraid, but it must be done." Gandalf said gravely.  
  
"No Gandalf. You shall not defeat the Witch King. That honour lies with Merry and Eowyn." I said, and glancing back at the wizard, grinned at his surprised expression.  
  
"Why -" he began, but I cut him off, anticipating his question.  
  
"Am I telling you that?" I finished, and he nodded. "Boromir's life has affected many things, the most of which is that Denethor is not as in as fey a mood as he should be, since he only has one son wounded, instead of one wounded and one dead. Right about now, he was SUPPOSED to be trying to burn himself and Faramir on a pyre in the funeral halls, and you were to ride and rescue Faramir, but that will not happen now." We'd reached the Citadel now, and dismounted. Out on the battlefield beyond the city, I heard the screech of the Nazgul, and looked out to see the Witch King descending on a rider.  
  
"You could not reach him before he was dead now, anyways." I said, and Gandalf nodded as Haldir arrived. As if on cue, Denethor and Legolas's brother came out of the Citadel and took stock of who was before them.  
  
"We must ride to help the Rohirrim - they are a mighty force, and welcome, but they cannot defeat the Orcs on their own." Denethor said gravely.  
  
"I fear not even our combined strength can defeat the Orcs." the Mirkwood prince said sadly.  
  
"Ah, but all the players have not yet arrived." I said with a grin, thoroughly enjoying myself, giving out cryptic hints. Denethor and the Mirkwood prince looked at me strangely, and just then Boromir arrived.  
  
"Come, my son, today we ride out together to battle!" Denethor told Boromir, turning his attention from me to his son. "Let us go, and rally our men! Perhaps we shall find where Prince Imrahil and his swan knights have got to!" So we started off, Gandalf, Denethor, Boromir, Haldir, the Mirkwood prince and I, and as we went, the men of Gondor, as well as the visiting Elves, gathered behind us. By the time we'd gotten our horses, and readied ourselves, the whole might of those in Gondor was ready and waiting to go out on the battle field behind us. At that moment, Prince Imrahil rode up, his knights behind him. He exchanged words with Denethor, and then his eyes flicked over to me as I sat on my horse, appearing as ready as everyone else to go out.  
  
"Surely the Lady would be safer within the city?" he asked, surprised, and I just looked back at him calmly. Boromir seemed to noticed for the first time that I was with them, and from the concern that suddenly slipped into his eyes, I had a feeling he was going to try and ask me to stay behind. Well, let him try. I was going.  
  
"Erin, you cannot come out with us." Boromir said softly, riding over to me. His voice was so low that I doubt anyone but Haldir and the Mirkwood Prince, with their Elven hearing, could hear.  
  
"Why not? I survived at Helm's Deep, I can handle here." I asked Boromir, keeping my voice as low as his.  
  
"Helm's deep was a battle, this is war." Boromir said, then hesitated before continuing. "Though your skills with the sword are great, and you are the fastest learner I've ever seen, the fighting out on the field will be unlike anything you've encountered before. You do not have the experience to..." He swallowed, unable to finish his sentence, and his eyes took on a pleading edge as he tried again. "Please, Erin, I could not bear to lose you, and there's every chance that I will if you come out onto the battlefield with us."  
  
"There's just as much a chance that you'll die, Boromir. And I don't want to lose you anymore then you want to lose me." I reached out and stroked Boromir's cheek tenderly, then whispered, so low only Boromir could hear, "I love you, Boromir." Though Boromir didn't react surprised to that confession, inside, I was startled. It had slipped out without thought, and yet, now that it was said, I knew without a doubt that I truly had grown to love Boromir.  
  
"And you are my heart, Lady Erin." Boromir replied, and caught my hand as his eyes filled with pleading and desperation. "Please, stay here." I wavered, but then my stubborn streak kicked in.  
  
"I am going out with you." I said. Boromir gave a pained sigh, and looked prepared to argue more, but then I felt a tug on my arm.  
  
"Lady Erin, may I speak with you?" I glanced at Haldir curiously, and Boromir plainly looked annoyed with the elf. Haldir ignored Boromir's look, and I, curious, let myself be pulled off to the side. To my surprise, Gandalf joined us.  
  
"Lady Erin, you know of the future. You know how this battle will turn out. You have read of it in your world." Gandalf stated, and I nodded.  
  
"So?" I asked, looking at the two of them curiously.  
  
"Do you really want to go out there and fight?" Haldir asked quietly. I paused.  
  
"What do you mean?" I said.  
  
"You are not used to the battle field - you could barely stand Helm's Deep, and that you stood only while Boromir was in danger, from either me or the orcs." Haldir said. I blinked, and realized that he was right - that was the only reason I had been able to stand the bloodshed at Helm's Deep, as well as Amon Hen. The one battle where I'd not been concerned about Boromir - the one in Moria - I'd blocked out, not wanting to remember it. But even now, as I thought back on the battles at Amon Hen and Helm's Deep, I found I could only remember the battle in relation to whether or not Boromir was safe.  
  
"Stay here, Lady Erin." Gandalf asked me.  
  
"But -" I started, and Gandalf put up his hand, stopping me.  
  
"You have my word that Boromir will come back unharmed." he said. I eyed him, then sighed.  
  
"Fine." I said. I wasn't happy about staying behind - despite Gandalf's reassurance, I still didn't think Boromir would come back unharmed - but with not only Boromir, but Haldir and Gandalf as well, asking me to stay behind, it wasn't exactly easy to say no.  
  
"I'm sure Lord Denethor would give his permission for you to be let into the fortress so you could watch the battle from there." Gandalf said.  
  
"I don't think there's enough guards remaining up there to stop me, anyways." I said grumpily, and then, unable to stand it there any longer, I kicked my horse into a gallop, heading for the Citadel. I heard Boromir call after me, but I didn't stop. Emotions were tumbling about inside of me, and I needed to find someplace to think. Without even noticing the guards, I entered the Citadel and headed for stairs - the higher I could get, the better.  
  
Somehow, I managed to find my way to the tallest part of the Citadel, to the hallway outside the room where only Denethor was allowed. Amazingly, there were no guards around the room. I pondered whether I should enter the room or not, but finally shrugged. As far as I knew, only the palantir was in the room beyond, and if not, I could leave and nobody would be the wiser. So I walked in, and found that indeed the palantir was the only thing there, resting on a pillar in the center of the room. It was covered, but I could still tell what it was. I skirted around the palantir, eyeing it suspiciously, remembering that Sauron had at least one of the stones, and not wanting to meet him again. Instead, I went to the one window in the room and looked out over the battle.  
  
What I saw made me glad Gandalf and Haldir had convinced me to stay behind. Even from this height, the carnage was visible. The ground seemed to have been turned a redish-black, covered in the mixed blood of orcs and men, as well as other creatures, where the ground was visible at all. Over it ran, like little ants, the fighters, carrying out a thousand little battles at once, all trying to win in the hopes that they would help to secure an overall victory.  
  
And even up here - far away from the fields, high above them - the stench and the sounds came. The stench was diluted somewhat, but the sounds had only risen, gaining clarity as they rose through the air. It sent my mind whirling, and my swirling emotions were forgotten as I tried to cope with the sensory information that was flooding my brain.  
  
Most important of all the information my senses were feeding me was the image of the field. In it, I could see without a doubt that the forces of the Rohirrim, Gondorians, swan knights and elves were outnumbered by at least two to one. Swallowing, I tried to remind myself that it would all turn out well - Aragorn would come, and the orcs would be driven off, the good guys would win. I guess the cries of the Nazgul were getting to me or something, then, because no matter how much I told myself, how many reasons for victory on the free peoples part I thought up, a dark shadow was always on my mind, grasping at just as many reasons for failure as for victory.  
  
My slow slip into depression was interrupted by horns and bells ringing out over the city, and the call of guards reached my ears as I looked out over the city, curious as to what was going on. "Back to the walls!" the guards cried "The Corsairs of Umbar are coming! Come back to the City before all are overwhelmed!" I grinned, and leaned out of the window, looking off down the Anduin. I saw the ships sailing closer, their black sails blending in with the sky, and the depression disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
"You have no hold on me, Sauron, you never will." I said with a giggle, looking off to Mordor, knowing that, somehow, the Dark Lord had been responsible for my thoughts. But now, my mind was my own, and I turned eagerly to watch the ships approach. Aragorn's arrival at the battle on this day had always been my favorite part of the book, and now I had a chance to watch that very scene that I liked so much. I made a mental note to give Gandalf and Haldir a big hug for convincing me to stay behind as I watched the ships make their way towards the battlefield.  
  
As the ships approached, and the men on the battlefield saw them, I caught a few phrases of a rather depressing-sounding verse on the wind. Looking down, I saw Eomer and the Rohirrim gathered on a hill, their banner set in the middle of them, ready to meet what they thought was their doom. My grin widened, and I looked out to the ships, eagerly, wanting to see the famous banner that Arwen had made.  
  
When the banner snapped out on the breeze, gleaming in the few rays of sunlight that had found their way through the darkness, I found myself giggling insanely, even more so as I watched the battlefield. It was in chaos, with various creatures on it realizing that what they thought was reinforcements was more foes, or what they thought was the last crushing blow was instead the cavalry come to save them. The ships landed, and I watched those on them disembark, saw Aragorn lead the charge, Anduril and Narsil shining even in the darkness of the day.  
  
The day sped by as I watched the battle, and I grinned as I saw the orcish army pressed back, the Nazgul fleeing, the three separate armies of the free peoples meeting, muttering vague 'nyah nyah nah boo boo' like statements in the general direction of Sauron. I was still giddy with the joy of victory as I turned from the window with the sun set, leaving the room to go meet Aragorn and the other captains as they came to the city. 


	18. Aftermath and Erin's Home, Version 2

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"Every cloud has a silver lining, but not every silver lining has a cloud."  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
Not mine. Only Erin's mine.  
  
~ Chapter XVIII~  
  
~ Aftermath and Erin's Home, Version 2 ~  
  
My mood fell, however, as I left the Citadel, remembering how many had been hurt or died in the battle on the field. Plus there were those that hadn't been there in the book. By the time I'd reached the 4th gate in the city, my mood had fallen to grim worry about what had happened. I reached the last Gate, the one the Witch King had broken, just as Aragorn and the other captains came up, and I took stock of who was there. There was Aragorn, obviously, as well as Eomer, Prince Imrahil, Haldir, Elrohir, Elladan, and Gandalf. Boromir, however, was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Hail, Lady Erin!" Aragorn called as he saw me at the gate.  
  
"Yo!" I called back, and I saw a smile try to form on Aragorn's lips. Eomer outright grinned for a moment before going somber again. Haldir, Elrohir, Elladan and Gandalf just shook their heads in amusement, while Imrahil didn't seem to know quite what to think.  
  
"Your company seems to be missing some people." I said, raising an eyebrow at Gandalf.  
  
"I'm afraid some of them are not missing but gone forever." Prince Imrahil said heavily. "I saw the Lord Denethor fall upon the field today, his breast pierced by a Southron arrow as he rallied his men." I blinked.  
  
"Oi." I muttered under my breath. "He managed to die anyways." Haldir looked at me curiously, being the only one who'd heard, but I ignored his look and turned to Gandalf.  
  
"Though the death of Lord Denethor grieves me, there is another who I am more worried about." I said pointedly to the wizard.  
  
"Alas, I was separated from the Lord Boromir in battle, Lady Erin. But I am sure he is safe, and making his way to the gates as we speak." Gandalf replied.  
  
"If he's not, I'm going to have to tie you to a tree. The TOP of a tree. The top of a very HIGH tree." I told Gandalf solemnly. Prince Imrahil looked at me in alarm, and I half-smiled to let him know I was joking. Well, sort of joking. If the chance came and there was need to do so, I WOULD tie Gandalf to a tree.  
  
"Though it would be most interesting to see you try, Lady Erin, I'm sure Gandalf is right." Aragorn said.  
  
"We shall see." I said dryly. Then a silence fell, and we all turned to watch the sun set. After a moment, Aragorn started in on his speech of not wanting to enter the city unbidden, and though there were a few changes, it resulted in the same thing - he didn't want to go in until the current steward - whoever it was - invited him in, and it was decided that he would camp out on the field. When they were done deciding that, it was my turn to speak up. Gandalf had been out on the field instead of in the city, so it was up to me to drag Aragorn into the Healing hall to save his friends.  
  
"Now that you're done deciding that you're not going to enter the city, Aragorn, get yer butt in there and to the healing halls. There are some people there that need help only you can give." I said dryly, and everyone looked at me. I looked back. "What? It's true. Elven healers are nice, but athelas used by Aragorn is better. And does anybody here want to see Faramir, Eowyn or Merry die?" Aragorn paused, nodded, then set about having his banner furled, and took off the Star of the North Kingdom and gave it to Elrohir and Elladan for safekeeping. Eomer, who had looked at me, surprised, when I mentioned Eowyn being alive, got antsy with waiting and set off before Aragorn was ready. Gandalf, Aragorn, Haldir and I followed behind us a short while later, with Aragorn hiding inside his cloak from Lothlorien. Imrahil said something about getting the men in order, and Elladan and Elrohir said something along the same lines before adding that they would join us shortly.  
  
When we reached the healing hall, Aragorn went in first, with us tagging along like little lost puppies. Inside, we found Pippin and Beregond standing guard. Pippin was very happy to see us, and added a light note to our visit before we went to see the sick. The sick which, to my surprise, included Boromir. And in about the same condition as Faramir, Eowyn and Merry - not good. When I saw Boromir and the state he was in, I gave Gandalf a solid whack on the head.  
  
"Unharmed, hm?" I said, shooting a glare at the wizard before going over to Boromir's bed. There another surprise greeted me - for though Boromir had the Shadow sickness just as Eowyn and Merry, his main hurt came from arrows. Orcish arrows. Three of them. I sucked in a breath, and glared in Gandalf direction again before turning back to Boromir.  
  
"I thought we escaped this at Amon Hen." I grumbled under my breath, and Haldir looked at me, concerned. I decided then that I hated Elven hearing. I sat by Boromir as Aragorn tried to get someone to bring him some athelas so he could heal the wounded and sick, not really paying attention. The locations of the arrow wounds was eerily like the locations of the deadly arrow wounds from Amon Hen in the movie, and I found myself biting my lip in worry.  
  
"He will live." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up to find Haldir.  
  
"That remains to be seen." I said with a sigh. "It seems every time I turn around, Boromir is in danger of dieing, and getting closer and closer to actually dieing each time. I should have known better then to listen to you and Gandalf and stay behind."  
  
"You had no choice, Lady Erin. If you hadn't gone willingly, we were already planning to lock you in a room somewhere." Haldir replied, and I looked at him sharply.  
  
"What? Why?" I asked, and Haldir sighed.  
  
"With the changes you have wrought, it would be disastrous if you died or were wounded, and unable to correct the quest." he explained.  
  
"Oh." I said, blinking. "I take it this means I don't get to ride with all you guys to Mordor for the final battle?"  
  
"We shall have to see." Haldir said, raising an eyebrow at me. "But if Gandalf asks you not to come, I ask that you listen to him and stay behind."  
  
"Fah. He'd better not. I wanna see the giant eagles." I grumbled. Aragorn came over to the bed, then, and set about tending to Boromir. When he was done, he informed me that Boromir would live, and I nodded my thanks. I stayed by Boromir as Aragorn healed Merry - who was the last to be healed - and then, with a last look at Boromir, I followed Aragorn and those that had come with us to the door of the hall. There Imrahil, along with a crowd, was waiting.  
  
Ignoring the crowd for the moment, Imrahil, Aragorn and Gandalf held a quiet council. In it, they decided that, until either Boromir or Faramir awoke, Prince Imrahil would rule Minas Tirith. Then we all set off to find some food, with the crowd tailing along behind. Elrohir and Elladan found us just as we found some food, and they joined us as we ate. When we were done eating, the crowd had gotten up the nerve to ask Aragorn to heal their kinsmen and/or friends, and I quickly got away before I was dragged into the all-night healathon that Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan were about to pull. I found my way back to the healing house, and, finding myself quite exhausted, managed to drag Pippin away from Merry long enough to take me to the house where he and Gandalf had been staying, then collapsed into bed and sleep.  
  
---  
  
It was already mid-morning when I woke the next day, and the house was empty save for me. Rising, I inspected the kitchen and managed to find some food for breakfast. Once I'd eaten and changed - somehow some clean clothes had appeared - I set off for the healing hall.  
  
I got lost, of course, and had to ask several people for directions before finally reaching the hall at noon. Inside, I found the 2 wounded members of the Fellowship awake and being kept company by Legolas, Pippin and Gimli. They were currently relaxing in the gardens, and seemed to have lapsed into a comfortable silence when I arrived.  
  
"Good morning." I said cheerfully, and I received various greetings from the Fellowship in return.  
  
"I'm afraid you've just missed Legolas and Gimli's tale of their journey with Strider, Lady Erin." Pippin said when I joined them in sitting on the grass.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure I can weasel it out of them or Aragorn later." I replied, though I really had no intention of asking.  
  
"I have no doubt." Legolas said, almost smiling. "But now I would like to hear the tale of your and Boromir's journey. We have not seen either of you since Helm's Deep."  
  
"Ugh. Don't remind me of Helm's Deep." I said, making a face. "Walls exploding and flaming eyeballs, oh my." Boromir had the nerve to chuckle at that. "Hey! You try talking to Sauron and see if YOU want to remember it afterwards!" That shut him up.  
  
"So it is true that you talked with Sauron?" Legolas asked, interested now. I nodded.  
  
"And you came out alive. You must come from a hardy folk." Gimli commented.  
  
"You could say that." I said, and shrugged.  
  
"A very hardy folk, I would say. You did not even quail when you stood before the Witch King at the Gate yesterday, and even Gandalf has admitted to being wary of the Lord of the Nazgul." Boromir said.  
  
"You stood before the Witch King?" Legolas asked, thoroughly curious, and that set off on a run-through of Boromir and my's adventures. It was a little difficult to follow once we got to Minas Tirith, since we'd both gone separate ways then, but we managed to sort everything out.  
  
"As my friend Gimli said earlier, you must come from a very hardy folk indeed if you are not affected in the least by the Nazgul, Lady Erin." Legolas commented when we were done.  
  
"Indeed, it would be good to know where more people of your fearlessness could be found in this dark time. Their courage could be useful. Where is your homeland?" Boromir asked, and inwardly I winced. The Fellowship had accepted me so far because Gandalf, Aragorn and Elrond did, but I knew the question of my home was bound to come up sooner or later.  
  
"Little place called Canada. It's way up north. Itty bitty town. Doubt any of you have heard of it before." I said when everyone looked at me expectantly. Well, it was a half truth.  
  
"No, but then none of us have traveled in the north much." Legolas said. "Though now I am curious as to how you came to Rivendell from a small town in the north." I paused and looked out over the city, trying to figure out what to say. Sighing, I decided to wing it, telling as much of the truth as I could without actually telling the truth. Gandalf could hang me later if he so desired.  
  
"It's a rather odd tale, and starts out something like Boromir's." I said. "I had a normal life. All was good and happy and fine. And then I started to have...vision dreams, I guess you could call them. I kept dreaming of orcs and men fighting, among other things. They seemed so real to me, and in the end I told my mother and grandmother about them. They quickly assured me they were nothing more then dreams. But then one night I had a dream of Rivendell." I paused. "Those of my town are not well traveled. We tend to stay in our town and not venture out. There is one man there, however, who felt the urge to travel when he was younger, and he went many places, including Rivendell. After my dream about Rivendell, which felt so real, I sought him out and talked to him about his travels. I described my dream version of Rivendell to him, and it was discovered that, without ever having seen Rivendell itself, I'd managed to dream of it exactly as it was. That brought more questions about my dreams. It was decided that I should travel to Rivendell to see if I could find out why I was having these dreams. So I went."  
  
"Alone?" Merry asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes. The main reason why nobody in my town travels is because they don't WANT to travel. No one wanted to come with me." I replied dryly. "So I went to Rivendell by myself. I made it, a little worse for the wear, on the same day Frodo arrived." I fell silent, trying to think of how to continue, but Legolas solved the problem for me.  
  
"So those times when you seemed to know something you shouldn't have - your dreams had told you of what would happen?" Legolas asked, and I realized I really didn't need to explain anymore.  
  
"To some extent, yes. My dreams, however, for some reason, do not have myself in them." I replied dryly. "And in them people die in certain places at certain times, who haven't deigned to do so in the waking world."  
  
"So you see deaths that do not happen?" Gimli asked in surprise.  
  
"Only seen two. And I think the main reason those two didn't happen was because I interfered." I replied.  
  
"So you prevented the deaths of two people because of your dreams?" Legolas asked, and I hesitated before nodding.  
  
"I guess you could say so." I said.  
  
"Who's deaths did you prevent?" Boromir asked, and I hesitated again, wondering if I should tell him. Then a thoughtful look came over his face. "In Edoras, when you said you dreamed of my death - was that one of your dreams?"  
  
"No, that was me having a nightmare." I said wryly.  
  
"Whose deaths, then, did you dream of?" Legolas asked. "Unless you would prefer not to tell us?"  
  
"Observant elf prince." I commented. "I would indeed prefer not to tell you."  
  
"As you wish then." Boromir said. There was a pause as everyone seemed to think over my story.  
  
"I take it Gandalf knows all this." Pippin said after a moment.  
  
"Aragorn, too." I said with a nod, then half-frowned. "And about a half a dozen other people who someone along the way deemed needed to know." Pippin nodded, and we lapsed into silence again.  
  
"I wonder what the captains are discussing." Merry wondered out loud after awhile.  
  
"How to Uproot a Dark Lord 101." I replied promptly. "Really Merry, what else would they discuss? Embroidery?" The thought of Aragorn, Gandalf and all the other captains discussing embroidery sent the hobbits laughing, and lifted the somber mood. We were quickly joking about, and generally having entirely too much fun for the day after a battle in which the main enemy hadn't even come close to being completely destroyed. So Gandalf found us a little later, in the middle of trying to catch Legolas to find out if elves were ticklish, which Legolas claimed they weren't. Well, Pippin, Gimli and I were trying to catch Legolas. Merry and Boromir were still too injured to do much, so they helped from their spots on the ground when they could.  
  
"I see that you six, at least, are having no trouble coping after the battle." Gandalf said dryly. I screeched to a halt in front of the wizard.  
  
"Hey, you're an all-knowing wizard, are Elves ticklish?" I asked. Gandalf blinked at me, surprised, and shook his head.  
  
"I would not know." he said, smiling with amusement.  
  
"Oh come on. You gotta know." I said, exasperated as I saw Legolas neatly escape Pippin and Gimli's clutches by climbing a tree.  
  
"Elves are NOT ticklish!" Legolas's insistent call came.  
  
"I would tend to trust the Elf on this one." Gandalf said, still looking amused. "After all, an Elf should know if he's ticklish."  
  
"Well, he could be ticklish and not want to tell us. After all, wouldn't being ticklish ruin Elves reputation as serious, wise, immortal beings?" I said.  
  
"We are NOT ticklish!!" Legolas insisted again, and next thing I knew, I was sitting at the top of a tree with Legolas glaring at me from a few branches down. I blinked, then grinned.  
  
"Hey, that was cool. Think you can do that to Gandalf? I still need to tie him to a tree for not bringing Boromir back unharmed." I said, and Legolas looked over at the wizard appraisingly.  
  
"I think I would get myself a thump on the head if I tried." the elf stated after a moment.  
  
"Drat. Now get me down, I hate heights." I said, starting to get a little dizzy as I glanced at the ground.  
  
"The tree is not that high." Legolas commented.  
  
"I know. I can't stand anything over twice my height, though, and this is at least triple. Now get me down." I ordered.  
  
"The tree is easy enough to climb, either up or down." Legolas said flatly.  
  
"You're just ASKING to be jumped on, elf boy." I said just as flatly, and Legolas eyed me. I shifted my seat, as if I was getting ready to jump, but Legolas was suddenly on the branch beneath me.  
  
"Fine." he said with a sigh, then picked me up and actually LEAPED DOWN from the tree. On the solid ground once more, I discovered that everyone was either laughing, or trying not to laugh.  
  
"Bah." I said, pretending to sulk, and everybody who was trying not to laugh gave up and laughed.  
  
"I am sorry, Erin, but it was quite amusing." Boromir apologized, the first to get over his mirth.  
  
"Yes, and it was a well-needed bit of humour after our council." Gandalf said solemnly as he and everyone else began to control their amusement.  
  
"Speaking of that, how'd it go?" I asked.  
  
"It started off with Prince Thaden wondering where his brother was." Gandalf said pointedly, arching an eyebrow at Legolas, who shrugged.  
  
"He is in charge of the Mirkwood fighters, not I." the elf said. "He would have resented my presence if I had come." Gandalf nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer, but from the glance he shot my way I had a feeling he thought I'd had something to do with it.  
  
"So now that we've heard about sibling rivalry among Elven princes, how DID the council go?" I asked again. Gandalf sighed before speaking.  
  
"It was decided to lead a host of seven thousand men to Mordor in two days time to confront the Dark Lord Sauron." he said. Boromir looked alarmed at this.  
  
"Seven thousand? Against MORDOR?" he exclaimed.  
  
"Yes. I cannot explain the reasons here, for it would be too easy for them to get back to the Dark Lord. Suffice it to say that though none of us that go may return, all the captains have determined that they will go to Mordor with as many forces as they can spare from the defense of the city." Gandalf said. Hearing that, Legolas and Gimli announced that they were going, and then Gandalf beat me to the punch by asking that I go with the army. Boromir immediately protested, but the wizard shot him a look that shut him up quickly. Then Pippin decided he wanted to go, as well, and Merry was ready to go, as well, but he was in no shape to do so, as Gandalf pointed out. Then Gandalf left us, claiming he had things to do, and a somber mood settled on us all as we thought about the coming march. I, myself, was not worried, knowing what was coming, but everyone else was busy wondering if they or their friends had just offered to commit suicide.  
  
Around mid afternoon, we all went back into the House of Healing, where Boromir and Merry were told on no uncertain terms that they needed to rest. Those of us that were uninjured watched, amused, as the two were shooed back to their beds, and then the healers turned on us and shooed us out of the hall.  
  
The four of us - Legolas, Gimli, Pippin and I - spent the remainder of the day going about the city, occasionally getting enlisted to help with various jobs. Eventually we ended out down by the gate, and then we found Aragorn at around supper time. Deciding we should all have supper together, we ate in one of the tents set up on the field, and Pippin and I repeated our separate tales of our adventures for Aragorn's benefit. When the sun set, Pippin and I said farewell to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli and made our way up into the city, where we checked on Merry and Boromir - both sleeping soundly - before finding the house we'd stayed in before to sleep. 


	19. Many Conversations

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"What a marvelous collection of devices! How do they work? What do they do? May I flip some switches?" - The Beyonder: 'The Avengers', issue 261  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chapters.  
  
~ Chapter IX~  
  
~ Many Conversations ~  
  
The next day I woke to an empty house once again. After getting changed and eating - I had to remember to ask Gandalf where the clean clothes were appearing from - I set off for the healing hall again, since I really didn't have anything else to do. I actually managed to find the healing hall without getting lost, much to my amazement, and so I entered in a happy mood. Merry, Eowyn and Faramir were fast asleep, but the house warden informed me that Boromir was up and in the gardens. Apparently he'd been making a startling recovery.  
  
"Good morning, Boromir." I said cheerfully as I entered the garden and found Boromir.  
  
"Good morning, Erin." Boromir replied as I sat down next to him, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Feeling better?" I asked, and Boromir nodded as he casually slipped his arm around my waist.  
  
"I seem to be healing exceptionally well." he said.  
  
"I have a feeling Aragorn and some certain elf twins are responsible for that." I said with a smile.  
  
"Aragorn? But I thought he was refusing to come into the City?" Boromir asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"As a King, yes. As captain of the Dunedain of the North, come to heal his friends - well, that's another matter entirely." I replied with a grin.  
  
"Ah." Boromir said. We sat in silence for a moment, and then Boromir struck up a conversation about the weather. That eventually turned to the battle of a few days before, and finally the topic I knew would come up, came up.  
  
"Erin, are you sure you wish to go to Mordor with the captains?" Boromir asked, and I sighed.  
  
"Yes, Boromir." I replied. "This is one thing nobody will be able to talk me out of. Besides, Gandalf has asked that I come."  
  
"I am sure he would let you stay if you asked." Boromir commented.  
  
"Yes, but I won't." I said firmly. "I've had a dream about this battle, Boromir. I know how it will end, and I want to be there to see it."  
  
"Just because you've seen how the battle is going to end doesn't mean you shall survive to see it." Boromir said softly, looking at me pleadingly. "Please, Erin. Stay here in Minas Tirith. I could not bear to lose you." It was strange to see Boromir pleading with me to stay behind, even if it had happened before, and I wavered in my resolve for a moment. But in the end, my desire to see the fall of Sauron won out.  
  
"I'm not very keen to lose myself, either." I quipped, looking away from Boromir to a lovely rose bush a few feet away. "I'm not stupid, I know it will be a battle. And I also know that I am going. I will not stay behind for ANY reason."  
  
"Not even love?" Boromir asked, and I looked back at Boromir with surprise. I swallowed and turned back to the rose bush, but didn't reply. I really wanted to see the fall of Sauron. But Boromir wanted me to stay here in Minas Tirith...and my feelings for him ran so deep that suddenly I couldn't decide which I wanted more. To see the fall of Sauron, or to stay in Minas Tirith with Boromir? I realized I needed to think on this, and, troubled, I drew away from Boromir and stood.  
  
"I'll be back later." I said quickly, and then quickly dashed out of the garden, leaving a probably very confused and hurt Boromir behind. As I left the healing hall, I paused, wondering where to go. I pondered going to the city's wall, but it was too busy up there. So instead, I turned back towards the Citadel. Arching an eyebrow, I wondered if I could find my way up to the room with the palantir and if anybody would mind if I went up there. I decided it couldn't hurt to try, and I headed off.  
  
It seemed to be my day for getting places without getting lost - I got to the Citadel and up to the room with the palantir easily, and there were no guards that stopped me, strangely enough. But then, there were no guards TO stop me once I reached a certain point. I figured they were all either guarding other places or dead. Well, that was a depressing thought...  
  
I wandered into the room with the palantir and found it, thankfully, empty. It looked as if no one had been in there since I had during the battle, and I realized nobody really had any reason to. Turning back to thinking about what I'd come here to think about, I went to the window and leaned on the sill, looking out over the city. It all seemed so...small from up here. Real descriptive, I know. But it did. The people looked as if they were little ants - or like those little people in those simulation computer games - y'know, the ones where you build cities and such. Wage wars, build cities, rule the world, that sorta thing. Except, in this simulation, some of my friends had been hurt. And someone who was more then a friend.  
  
I moped as I looked out the window, staring at random parts of the City, and eventually my eyes traveled back to the healing hall. I sighed. To be honest, my deep feelings for Boromir scared me. I'd had a few boyfriends back home - but really, my family life was not conductive to attracting good boyfriends. Despite the fact that my father tended to make sneering and dirty comments to any boy I brought home, my mom also tended to hit on the poor boys. Invariably, the boys broke off the relationship with me a few days after meeting my family. One broke it off the same night. After making out with my mom. But I had known even before that that he was a loser, and was hoping to break it off with him soon.  
  
So it really scared me that my feelings were so deep I'd called them love. The fact that I actually wavered between going to see Sauron's end and staying behind in a City rebuilding itself from a large battle scared me. After all, it wasn't like if I left I wasn't coming back. Sure, there was the possibility that I'd be killed in battle. But after what Haldir told me about Gandalf not wanting me to die, so I could correct the quests path, I was pretty sure Gandalf wouldn't have asked me to come unless he had some way to ensure my survival. It occurred to me that he might actually have me stay behind at some point - there WERE several groups of men left behind or sent off before the small army reached Mordor, after all. But there was no point in that. Gandalf had to have a way for me to stay safe.  
  
So I'd survive the battle, go to Ithilien, and then back to Minas Tirith...and Boromir. I nodded to myself, decided on my path. I turned from the window and headed out of the room. Halfway down the stairs, I ran into Gandalf, who was coming up the stairs.  
  
"Hello Gandalf!" I said cheerily.  
  
"Ah, Lady Erin, just who I was looking for." he said. "Though I do wonder what you're doing up here."  
  
"Came up here to think." I replied. "The room at the top of the stairs has quite a nice view. Quite a nice room in general, except for the palantir."  
  
"So Denethor did have one?" Gandalf asked, raising and eyebrow, and I nodded.  
  
"Yep. But you were looking for me?" I asked.  
  
"Yes, but let us find someplace more comfortable to talk then the middle of the stairs." Gandalf said, and I nodded, then followed him as he set off back down the stairs. He led me out of the Citadel and to the house where we were staying, and once more I found myself sitting in the main room with Gandalf for a talk.  
  
"I wish to talk to you about going to Mordor." Gandalf said gravely.  
  
"What about?" I asked.  
  
"I fear perhaps I may have been too hasty in asking you to come along." Gandalf said. "I thought it would be best for you to come to ensure that you can fix any changes in the quest. However, I'm afraid I was perhaps too hasty and neglected to consider your safety."  
  
"You've been talking to Boromir, yes?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at the wizard.  
  
"No, I have not seen him since yesterday." Gandalf said, then looked at me curiously. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh, he's worried about me going to Mordor, too." I said, airily, waving it off. And so was I, now, I added silently. That Gandalf DIDN'T have a plan to keep me safe did worry me.  
  
"Indeed, it seems to be a topic of discussion today. Prince Thaden and Imrahil have both wondered about the wisdom of bringing you." Gandalf said thoughtfully. A silence fell, as Gandalf got lost in his thoughts. I, myself, was reconsidering whether or not to ask Gandalf if I could stay behind. My main argument for going had just been dumped by the wizard, and therefore my whole decision was suddenly lacking a logical basis. I was still debating whether or not I still wanted to go when Gandalf turned to me, his face suddenly serious.  
  
"I cannot, in good conscience, ask you to come to Mordor if you do not want to come, Lady Erin. I have no way to guarantee your safety - you will be as much at risk as any of us there." he paused to let his words sink in, then continued gravely. "Do you wish to go to Mordor with the captains and I tomorrow?" I took a shaky breath. I had walked away from Boromir rather then answer this same question, and now I realized I wanted to do the same again. But I also realized I had another option with Gandalf.  
  
"I don't know." I said slowly. "Can I have some time to think about this?"  
  
"As long as you have decided by tonight, yes." Gandalf replied, and I nodded.  
  
"Thanks." I said. "Now where's some food? I'm getting hungry..." Gandalf laughed, and we got up and went to find some food.  
  
---  
  
After having lunch with Gandalf, I said goodbye to him and headed off. I didn't feel like going back to the Citadel, but I didn't want to go back to the healing hall, and it was still busy down by the cities walls, where everybody was cleaning up after the fire. So I started wandering, and hoped I wouldn't run into anyone who wanted to talk to me.  
  
I ended up in a deserted section of the City, where large mansions that had once stood filled were now empty, their owners having been killed in the wars that Gondor had constantly fought against Mordor for the past several years. It was rather depressing, really, and was not doing me any good helping me decide whether or not to go to Mordor.  
  
I turned and headed down the streets, and wandered down, going through various gates in the walls of the city, until I found myself in the second to outermost ring of the city. It had gotten steadily more busy as I got closer to the outer ring, and here there were at least 2 dozen people in view at any one time. There weren't many Elves, though, I noted with surprise. So I was able to spot Haldir from quite a ways off. I hesitated, wondering if I'd end out in another discussion about whether or not I should go to Mordor if I went over and talked to him. But the decision was taken out of my hands when he noticed me. I didn't even realize he was moving towards me until he was suddenly right beside me.  
  
"Good day, Lady Erin." he said with a nod of his head.  
  
"Same to you." I replied, with a nod of my own head.  
  
"You seem troubled." Haldir observed.  
  
"Oh, does it show?" I asked ruefully.  
  
"To none but Elvish eyes, I am sure." Haldir replied. I eyed him.  
  
"Y'know, I've already decided I hate Elvish hearing. I think I'm starting to hate Elvish sight, as well." I said, and Haldir chuckled. It was very odd. Haldir had always been really serious around me - and all of the sudden he chuckled.  
  
"Most humans wish for Elvish hearing and sight." he said, still looking amused.  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm not most humans." I said, rolling my eyes.  
  
"So it has been noticed." Haldir said, and his eyes flicked to the people surrounding us. I was used to getting odd looks here in Middle-Earth, and ignoring them, but his comment made me notice the strange looks again for a moment, and I held back a giggle.  
  
"Well now that your mood has lightened, may I ask what was troubling you earlier?" Haldir asked, and I eyed him.  
  
"No, you may not." I said. Haldir blinked, and I grinned. "It's called precision of language, Master Elf." I'll give him credit, it took him only a few moments to realize what I meant.  
  
"Would you be so kind as to inform me of what was troubling you earlier?" Haldir asked, with exaggerated formality, and I laughed. Haldir was proving to have a very good sense of humour.  
  
"I would, but not here." I said, getting a little more serious. "Is there someplace nice for thinking and rather...um...unbusy around here?" Haldir arched an eyebrow at my made up word of 'unbusy', but then motioned for me to follow before setting off down a street. I followed, of course, and he led me up into the third circle of the city before turning into the part of the city that had apparently been claimed as the Elves temporary residence. At least, one would assume that why the Elves suddenly outnumbered the humans by the same amount that the humans had outnumbered the Elves down by the gate. Anyways, Haldir led me to a small house, then through it and out into the back, where there was a beautiful garden.  
  
"Ooo, nice." I commented.  
  
"I thought so, too." Haldir said with a shrug. "Now - what was troubling you?"  
  
"What IS troubling me, you mean. Even if my mood has lightened, it's still troubling me." I said with a sigh, sitting down on a nearby bench.  
  
"Well, what is it?" Haldir asked, joining me on the bench.  
  
"Going to Mordor." I replied, and Haldir nodded as if he'd expected it.  
  
"Boromir does not wish you to go?" he asked, and I nodded.  
  
"And Gandalf, after asking me to go, has flat out told me that he doesn't have any way to guarantee my safety and asked whether or not I actually want to go." I elaborated. "I have to tell him whether or not I will by tonight."  
  
"And you cannot decide whether or not you want to?" Haldir said.  
  
"Exactly, Captain Obvious." I said, half-smiling. Haldir looked a little amused by my joke as well, and it occurred to me that it really DID fit, since he was officially one of the captains of the armies that were going to Mordor.  
  
"Well, what are your reasons for going?" Haldir asked.  
  
"I wanna see Frodo and Sam again. And go to Ithilien. And see the giant eagles." I replied. For some reason, I felt like I could tell Haldir what the entire rest of the quest would go like and it wouldn't matter. It was quite strange. Though something did hold me back from actually outright telling him that Sauron would fall.  
  
"And what are your reasons for not going?" Haldir asked.  
  
"Boromir." I replied simply. "And the slight fear that I might not survive the battle at the Black Gates."  
  
"Do those two reasons outweigh the three you have to go?" Haldir asked, and I pondered.  
  
"Well, wanting to go to Ithilien really isn't a reason. After all, I can go there later, right?" I said, thinking out loud. "And Frodo and Sam will come back here."  
  
"Which leaves only the eagles." Haldir said. "And something else you have not told me?" I looked at the Elf in surprise, and he just smiled at me in response.  
  
"Yes." I said, and looked down at my feet, frowning. "Which leaves me back where I started, not knowing whether I want to go or stay."  
  
"Then let us approach it another way." Haldir said, and I looked up at him curiously. "What can you do if you stay here?"  
  
"Uh..." I paused, blinked, and thought about it. "Spend time with Boromir."  
  
"What can you do if you go to Mordor?" Haldir asked. I paused again to think about it. This time, I thought past the battle, and to Ithilien, and it suddenly occurred to me that if Boromir was alive and running the city, Aragorn could very well send for Faramir to come to Ithilien - which would mean no Eowyn-Faramir romance. Not to mention I had no idea how the Elves going to Mordor would effect the battle, or the stay in Ithilien afterwards.  
  
"Help the quest go the way it should." I said slowly, and Haldir arched an eyebrow at me.  
  
"Does that help in your decision?" he asked, and I grinned.  
  
"Yes. Thank you." I said, and gave the Elf a hug. It caught him off guard, and it took him a moment to return it, and then it was only tentative. I shook my head and smiled in amusement when I drew back.  
  
"You need to work on your hugging skills." I said, and the Elf gave me a blank look.  
  
"The captain of the Lothlorien guard does not exactly have a need for such skills on a regular basis." he said, eyeing me.  
  
"Hm, indeed. Hugging Orcs to death doesn't exactly work, I'd imagine." I said, a grin spreading over my face, and Haldir chuckled again.  
  
"I don't think it's ever been tried, but I'm sure it wouldn't work." he said.  
  
"It might send them running away scared, though." I mused.  
  
"Or it could earn you a deadly wound." Haldir replied.  
  
"You never know until you try." I said, arching an eyebrow, and Haldir eyed me again.  
  
"Perhaps you should not come to Mordor." he said.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't run around trying to hug Orcs. At least, not unless I find a clean one that doesn't stink." I said.  
  
"Which is impossible." Haldir commented.  
  
"Which means I won't try hugging any Orcs." I said, trying to keep a straight face, and Haldir looked at me seriously for a moment before bursting out laughing, and I joined him. We spent most of the afternoon chatting away in the garden - I was amazed by how easy it was for me to talk to the Elf. It felt like I was with a friend I'd known for years. Haldir, for his part, seemed to feel exactly the same way, and by the time the sun began to set, he was actually LOUNGING on the bench, the image of the oh-so-serious captain of the Lothlorien guard completely gone. He straightened up, however, and became that serious captain again when one of his men - err, elves - entered the garden.  
  
"Mithrandir and the Lord Aragorn request both your and Lady Erin's presence, captain." the elf said, and Haldir nodded. Once the elf was gone, I couldn't help letting out a little giggle.  
  
"Serious!Haldir." I mumbled under my breath when Haldir looked at me strangely, and then giggled again before sombering myself up as we rose from the bench and left the house. Once outside, I glanced around, realizing the elf had neglected to tell us WHERE Gandalf and Aragorn requested our presence to be. Haldir, however, seemed to know exactly where to go, and I shrugged and followed him. He ended out leading me down to the field, then into a tent, where, sure enough, Aragorn and Gandalf were waiting. Along with all the other captains who were to go to Mordor. Gandalf looked a little surprised when I entered with Haldir, but made no comment.  
  
It turned out that all the captains where gathering to discuss their route and strategy when they reached the gates, as well as have supper. I, for the most part, found it boring, but I did take careful note of where they were going, and tried to match it up with how they'd gone in the book. I put in my few cents when they started a debate about when they should pull back the scouts, saying they should keep them out as long as possible. The captains had looked at me strangely for a few moments, it being the first time I'd spoken all evening, then Aragorn took up my suggestion and the decision was made. The meeting lasted quite awhile, and I started yawning during the discussion of how to array the troops in front of the black gate. Gandalf, noticing, excused both himself and I, and we left the tent.  
  
"I assume you have made your decision?" Gandalf asked as we walked, and I nodded.  
  
"I'm going. I'm needed more with the armies then here in Minas Tirith." I said.  
  
"Boromir will argue with that." Gandalf said.  
  
"Yeah, I still need to tell him, too." I said with a frown.  
  
"Shall I take you to the healing hall, then?" Gandalf asked, arching an eyebrow at me.  
  
"Eh, the warden will hate me, but Boromir will kill me if I don't tell him." I answered after a moment, and Gandalf nodded. We walked in silence the rest of the way to the healing hall, and then Gandalf nodded his head at me before heading back the way we'd come - back to the meeting, I had the feeling. Taking a deep breath, I entered the healing hall. There was one or two candles lit, and two Elven healers sat in the semi-darkness, watching the patients. They moved their heads slightly when they saw me enter, and one quietly got to his feet and came over to me.  
  
"He's out in the garden. Please try and get him to come rest." the elf said quietly.  
  
"I'll try." I replied, just as softly, and the elf nodded before going back to his seat. I headed out to the garden, and immediately saw a dark figure sitting off to one side, leaning against the wall. Careful heading over, I paused a short ways from the figure, and let my eyes adjust to the dim light of the stars. Boromir sat there, looking miserable, with his eyes closed, and I cringed with guilt. I'd left so suddenly - who knows what he'd been thinking?  
  
"Boromir?" I called softly, and his eyes opened. I came closer as his head slowly turned to look at me. His face was unreadable in the starlight, and I'm pretty sure it would have been unreadable in sunlight, too. I sat down next to him, and there was an awkward silence.  
  
"I'm going." I said softly after awhile, unable to stand the silence anymore. Boromir said nothing for awhile. Just as I was considering leaving, however, he spoke.  
  
"If that is what you truly want, then I cannot stop you." he said, voice emotionless, and I looked at him, worried.  
  
"It took me most of the day to decide, but yes, it's what I want." I said.  
  
"Oh, is that what you were doing all afternoon alone in Lord Haldir's garden with him? Deciding?" There was bitterness in Boromir's voice, now. But I didn't notice it after his words sunk in. How the hell had he known I'd spent the entire afternoon with Haldir? And that had been HALDIR'S garden? Oh, I was gonna kick that elf for not telling me. I should have guessed, though.  
  
"Yes, he helped me decide." I said.  
  
"I'm sure," said Boromir, his voice turning mocking. "The captain of the Lothlorien guard spent the entire afternoon convincing you to go to Mordor with him." I stiffened. With the way that was worded, there was no mistaking what Boromir was implying.  
  
"He was not convincing me of anything. He helped me straighten out the reasons for going and not going in my mind." I said icily.  
  
"And was one of the reasons for going him?" Boromir spat, and my eyes narrowed.  
  
"No." I replied through clenched teeth, not trusting myself to say more.  
  
"I doubt it." Boromir's voice had gone back to bitter. "Have I not seen how he seems already, after less time with you then I, to have found his way into your confidence? I could not convince you to stay behind in Minas Tirith for the battle, but a few words from him and you stayed. And now, he is leaving the city, and after spending the afternoon with him, you have decided to leave with him. I am not blind, Lady Erin."  
  
"First off, Haldir AND Gandalf were the ones who convinced me to stay in Minas Tirith during the battle. Second off, I am leaving with an entire ARMY, not just Haldir, for MORDOR." I said angrily. "Haldir and I are nothing more then friends, and if you can't accept that, then I regret ever saving you from the death you were supposed to have at Amon Hen." With that, I stood and left. Boromir did not call after me, which was good, since I would have ignored him anyways. I left the hall quickly, and headed up the streets. I eventually came to the house where Gandalf, Pippin and I were staying, and with a sigh, entered. I was dead tired, but I did not sleep the entire night. 


	20. More Conversations on the Way to Mordor

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"My obsession has been fed, you are all safe.  
  
At least until 'The Two Towers' comes out on video." - Me ^.^  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
You'd think after 19 chapters, I wouldn't need this. So I'll just say 'See previous chapters' and leave it at that.  
  
~ Chapter XX~  
  
~ More Conversations on the Way to Mordor ~  
  
The armies assembled out on the Pelennor fields the next day. They made an impressive sight, all decked out for war, but a gloom hung over them. Just a few days before they had been laughing and full of joy at their victory - now they were silent and grim. I wished then, more then ever, that I could've stood up and told them everything would be alright - that they'd succeed. I've never seen men - or women - or elves - with so little hope. It was as if Sauron had already defeated them, and they were marching off to be his slaves.  
  
I do pity the captains of the armies. They stood up or rode tall at the front of their armies, radiating courage, hope and every other virtue of the heroes in stories, never daring to let any see the doubt that I knew was within them all. They had no idea if they were going to their death - Haldir had hints from me that they would succeed, but when going to what is considered certain death, hints do not always ease the mind. So even Haldir looked grim as he rallied his men.  
  
I had left the city early that morning. A messenger had come early in the morning, saying that Boromir wished to see me at the healing hall. But I did not wish to see him. His words from the night before still hurt, and I admit, I am one to hold a grudge. At least for a day or two. Then I normally forgive the person. But I wasn't going to be here in a day or two, so Boromir would have to wait until I came back to talk to me. Otherwise, I have no clue what I would say. He could end out canned very easily if I talked to him while still mad.  
  
I was one of the first ones stirring on the fields, I was up so early. The elves, of course, were almost always up and about - or maybe asleep. I couldn't tell, half the time. It's really hard to tell if an Elf is sleeping or just staring out into space, lost in thought. I'm sure it would be easier to tell if I spent more time around Elves - but, well, my contact with Elves until recently had been limited.  
  
I roamed about the fields, randomly walking up to tents and looking at banners. The guards looked at me strangely, and I'd just smile at them and wander off to another tent. I found the horses, too, and had a great time oooing and aahing. Especially when Shadowfax - who had been ambling by, cropping grass - had the grace to come over to me, looking for treats.  
  
"Sorry Shadowfax, I don't have anything." I said softly to the great horse as he snuffled at my hands. Shadowfax snorted and trotted away, then went back to cropping grass. I grinned. I had a feeling that horse had been an endless source of amusement for the children of Rohan when he had been a foal. It was shortly after my encounter with Shadowfax that Gandalf found me.  
  
"Lady Erin, you're up and about early." he commented, walking alongside me as I wandered. I shrugged in reply. Gandalf was nice, but explaining love-life problems to him? Not gonna happen. When he saw I wasn't going to say anything, he spoke again.  
  
"Legolas made an interesting comment about you last night. Out of hearing of the rest of the captains, thankfully." Gandalf said, and looked at me with that piercing look of his - the imitation Galadriel one. "He mentioned that you knew the course of the quest." I remained silent, hoping Gandalf would find some reason of his own for Legolas knowing that. Silently, I decided that Legolas had earned himself a whack - or at least another attempt at tickling.  
  
"I need to know what you've told him, Erin." Gandalf said sternly, stepping in front of me. I shrugged, then told him what I'd said.  
  
"And it wasn't just him that I told. Merry, Pippin, Gimli and Boromir were there, as well." I replied. Gandalf nodded.  
  
"It is not the best of stories, but it is the best one for having been thought up on the spot. Though it would have been nice if you had consulted me first." Gandalf said.  
  
"There was no way I could have. They were asking about my home, I couldn't exactly say 'excuse me, I have to go ask Gandalf where I'm from'." I said sarcastically. Gandalf smiled slightly.  
  
"No indeed." he said. "But no serious harm is done. Now come, let us go find some food - and tell Aragorn and Haldir of your story, so they do not say something that causes it to be called into question." I followed happily - my stomach was ready to start growling for food any moment now. We ended up in the tent where we'd eaten and planned the night before. Aragorn was already there, looking over some maps, and looked up absently when we entered. His focus quickly shifted, however, when he saw me.  
  
"Lady Erin." he said, and I eyed him warily. Him greeting me before Gandalf was not only unheard of, it was not a good sign. "There have been messengers from Minas Tirith looking for you."  
  
"Indeed. Which was why I was out gaping at the horses." I said promptly.  
  
"They say to tell you that Lord Boromir wishes to see you." Aragorn continued.  
  
"Mm-hm. That's nice." I said in an I-really-don't-care tone of voice. Aragorn looked at me intently for a moment, then turned to Gandalf and finally greeting the old wizard, dropping the subject. A messenger was then sent to find Haldir, while another was sent to find food. Both came at roughly the same time, and we ate quietly, each to their own thoughts.  
  
When the meal ended, Gandalf brought up the story I'd told to the rest of the Fellowship, and I had to tell it all over again for Aragorn and Haldir. After a short discussion over that, in which Aragorn and Haldir asked me a few questions, the discussion started to turn towards my REAL home. I really didn't want to discuss that, so I steered the conversation away from it, and soon I was sitting back in my chair, listening, the Elf, wizard and man before me completely caught up in their own conversation. I think only Haldir noticed when I rose and slipped out of the tent.  
  
The troops, by this time, had begun to assemble on the field. I would have loved to watch them assemble from up in the Citadel, but I had the nasty feeling that if I entered Minas Tirith before leaving, I wouldn't get out without talking to Boromir. Which, as afore said, could be disastrous. So I found the highest spot I could without getting too close to the city and sat there, watching, occasionally muttering things about Boromir being stupid.  
  
I saw Aragorn, Haldir and Gandalf exit the tent they were in a short while after I sat down, and then the other captains began to appear as well, and then the organization of the army began in ernest. Somehow, Legolas and Gimli found me and joined me just about the time things were starting to look semi-organized on the field. There were still gaps in the ranks, where men had overslept, or were off getting their sword or spear sharpened at the last minute. But on the whole, the armies were ready. Legolas and Gimli just sat and watched for a moment, then Legolas cocked his head to one side, as if listening.  
  
"Aragorn is looking for us." he said suddenly, standing gracefully, and Gimli and I stood, as well, though with much less grace and an added stretch on my part. We followed the Elf, who obviously had an idea of where he was going, and soon we ended up by the horses, where Aragorn was mounted up on his horse, talking to Gandalf, who was on Shadowfax. The great stallion snorted at me when he saw me, bringing Aragorn and Gandalf's attention to us.  
  
Apparently it was time for us to mount up, as well, and two horses were brought forward - Arod and Rosai, I noted. Legolas and Gimli leaped/clambered onto Arod, and I quickly mounted Rosai. Then Aragorn and Gandalf motioned for us to follow, and set off toward that front of the ranks of men. There Pippin greeted us cheerily, and I spent the rest of the morning in the company of the hobbit, talking about just about everything under the sun, while Aragorn, Gandalf and all the other captains went about gravely inspecting the troops, making sure everybody was ready.  
  
Then trumpets were blowing, and Pippin and I urged our horses forward. We rode up beside Legolas and Gimli, who were in turn beside Aragorn. Beyond Aragorn was Gandalf, and on the other side of the wizard, the other captains rode - Elladan, Elrohir, Haldir, Prince Thaden, Prince Imrahil, and the newly-crowned King Eomer. The formation stayed that way until we reached Osgiliath at noon. Then Legolas and Gimli traded places with Haldir, and Legolas and his brother struck up a conversation about something - presumably dwarves, considering the looks Thaden was shooting at Gimli.  
  
Haldir, for his part, was silent, and I took the opportunity to poke him in the side, figuring a whack would not look to good to the troops. To my surprise, the Elf made a funny noise and almost fell off his horse. I looked at him strangely, and when Haldir had himself steady on his horse again and glared at me, I grinned, realizing what had happened. Haldir was ticklish.  
  
"What was that for?" Haldir asked grumpily.  
  
"Oh, various things." I said, still grinning. Haldir shot me a withering look, pulling his greater age into effect and managing to remind me of Gandalf for a moment. With that not getting an answer, he decided to try a different track.  
  
"I must compliment you on skillfully turning the conversation away from your real home this morning." he said, and I stopped smiling immediately. It was my turn to glare, and Haldir just smiled sweetly back at me. There was an obvious choice here - talk about my home, or tell him why I'd poked him. Just to thwart him, I decided to talk about my home.  
  
"Well obviously it didn't work that well, if you noticed." I said. "And if you say it's due to Elvish abilities, you're getting another poke." Haldir put on a face of mock horror, then went serious again.  
  
"I won't then. I'm sure Mithrandir and Lord Aragorn noticed, as well." he said. "But now that I have you alone, I'm going to continue that line of the conversation. You have been fairly quiet about your home - you barely talk of it. Why?"  
  
"Because I hate it there." I replied simply. Haldir looked at me, shocked.  
  
"How can you hate your home?" he asked.  
  
"For that, I'll have to explain about my world some. It could take awhile." I answered.  
  
"We have nothing to do but talk while we ride." Haldir said, waving his hand vaguely at the land in front of us.   
  
"Not necessarily. We could go around poking random people and see if they make funny noises, too." I said innocently, and Haldir glared at me.  
  
"The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish." he said pointedly, and with a sigh, I started to explain to him about my home, starting with how our world was set up.  
  
I explained that our world had grown over such a large space, and had so many people and so few resources, that sometimes it was not always easy to get what you needed for your family, and about how laws prevented us from simply leaving someplace, heading out into the 'wilds' - what little of them were left - and starting our own home from scratch. With that said, I moved on to explain how our cities were set up, and a bit about our economy. Haldir, throughout it all, looked completely enthralled, absorbing the information. Occasionally he asked questions about something he didn't understand, and then I'd have to backtrack and tell him about something.  
  
I finished telling him about my world just before we stopped for the day. We were at the crossroads, and as we stopped, heralds blew on their trumpets, declaring the Lords of Gondor had returned, among other things, and Haldir was quickly drawn into a debate with the captains. Legolas and Gimli came back as the captains discussion started, both looking slightly peeved.  
  
"Have a nice talk with your brother?" I asked Legolas mildly. The Elf simply shook his head, his lips pressed together in annoyance.  
  
"He is the most arrogant and rude elf I have ever met! It is from Elves such as him that we Dwarves draw our dislike of the Elven kind, and with good reason!" Gimli exploded. I grinned.  
  
"Didn't you say the same thing about Legolas awhile back?" I asked, pondering. I was pretty sure the dwarf had said something along those lines back when the Fellowship had left Rivendell, but my memory that far back was a little spotty - so much had happened, my brain was having a hay day remembering it all. Gimli and Legolas, however, apparently did remember it, as Gimli half-sulked and Legolas's mouth twitched into a smile. Then we were setting up camp, and I spent the rest of the evening in conversation with Pippin, Gimli and Legolas.  
  
The next morning, we waited for the men on foot - who had been left behind - to catch up. That took almost an entire day, and during it all, the captains were in urgent debate. To my surprise, Gandalf didn't come looking for hints as to where they should go, and instead seemed to argue vehemently for one point. Then we set off again on the next day, and come afternoon, Haldir switched places with Legolas and Gimli again.  
  
"Out conversation the other day was slightly interrupted." Haldir commented after we greeted each other.  
  
"Conversation? It was more like 'Erin Tells All About Her Home'." I said with a half smile, and Haldir nodded, smiling ruefully.  
  
"And yet, with all your talking, you never got to what I'd asked about in the first place." he commented, and I made a face.  
  
"No, I didn't." I said. I paused, and went silent, frowning as I tried to decide how to tell Haldir about my home. He was silent, letting me think, but was obviously waiting for me to speak, because as soon as I started talking, I had his complete attention. I started off telling him about where I lived - bad part of a city. Then I told him about my dad and mom, and how they could never hold a job for long, and then branched out from that onto their personalities and how they behaved. Haldir got more and more horrified as I went on. By the time I got to my brother, his eyes were wide and it looked like all the blood had drained out of his face.  
  
"And now you can see why I hate my home." I said quietly when I finished, and Haldir nodded silently.  
  
"I can indeed. No one should be allowed to live in that manner." he said. I snorted.  
  
"Gee, tell that to the governments of my world, willya? Maybe they'll listen to an Elf...though I doubt it." I said, then adopted a nasal tone before continuing. "'Someone who's several hundred times my age is telling me that I'm doing something wrong? What do they know, anyways? THEY haven't run a country, and even if they had, every countries different and what works in one won't necessarily work in another.'" Haldir chuckled, and I grinned. The conversation turned light from there, interrupted occasionally by the trumpets and heralds declaring that the Lords of Gondor had come. Later in the day, that changed to 'the King Elessar has come', and to my amusement, Aragorn took on a grouchy, annoyed look - which was generally aimed in Gandalf's direction - every time the heralds announced it.  
  
The rest of the army, however, did not share my light spirit. Even Haldir seemed to struggle to be cheerful after awhile, and soon he didn't even bother trying. Everyone was downcast and sad, and I longed to tell them that everything would be alright, that Sauron would be destroyed and Middle-Earth could rebuild itself. Every day, the urge got stronger, while the hearts of the army fell deeper, and soon it became a daily struggle not to run up to the captains or a random soldier and tell them everything would be alright. The days passed, and finally we came to the point where almost a thousand of the men stopped and refused to go on.  
  
Aragorn told them to go, telling them they could go retake Cair Andros from the enemy instead, and some of the men took courage and decided to stay, but a good number of them left. At this point, sitting not to far from Aragorn, I had to practically clamp my hand over my mouth to stop from telling them how the battle at the Black Gates would turn out and that they had no reason to despair. But I knew they were needed at Cair Andros, and besides that, it wouldn't do to say that, without any doubt, Sauron would be defeated so close to Mordor, where he could easily hear. But then we moved on, and two days later, we came to the black Gates of Mordor.  
  
One thing the movies had trouble in portraying - and always will have trouble with, I think - is the size of some of the larger things. The Argonath were done well. The Dwarf city in Moria had needed a little help. And the black gates of Moria needed mucho grando help. They were HUGE. They seemed almost as if the were part of the cliffs surrounding the place, they were so high, so thick - and so impenetrable. I stayed close to Aragorn as he arrayed the army as best he could, and all the time, I kept glancing over my shoulder at the gate and shaking my head. Engineers and architects from my world would have a hay-day with that gate, picking it apart and seeing what made it work.  
  
When the captains gathered, preparing to go challenge Sauron to come out, I shook my thoughts of the Black Gate out on my mind and concentrated on what was happening around me. We went forward, I near the back, and the heralds stood out and sent their voices up over the battlements of Mordor.  
  
"Come forth! Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Justice shall be done upon him. For wrongfully he has made war upon Gondor and wrested its lands. Therefore the King of Gondor demands that he should atone for his evils, and depart then for ever. Come forth!" they cried, and in the silence that followed - we waited. 


	21. The Fall of Sauron and Galadriel

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"I prey on prayer mats, fear my power." - Halnor (from the online RPG of Aetolia)  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chapters  
  
~ Chapter XXI~  
  
~ The Fall of Sauron and Galadriel ~  
  
We waited before the gates for a long time, and the captains started to get restless. I got bored, but I knew better then to suggest turning back - besides the fact that everybody would look at me strangely, they suggested it themselves after awhile. And then a door in the middle of the Black Gate was opened, and out came the embassy of the Dark Tower. I stayed as far at the back of the group of captains that I could, intending to stay out of the way and not butt in.  
  
Then the embassy began speaking. He said first that he was the Mouth of Sauron, and then paused before continuing. He said his insults, aimed at the captains in general, then at Aragorn in particular, then cringed when it looked like he might have to pay for them. Gandalf spoke up, and the interesting part began. I watched as the embassy brought out Frodo's mithril coat and Lothlorien cloak and Sam's sword from the Barrow-downs. The captains seemed to almost slump in their saddles, though none moved a muscle. The last bit of hope they had was slowly slipping away, and Pippin summed the mood up with his cry of grief as he sprang towards the embassy. The embassy, of course, had the nerve to laugh, and then made his speech about how useless is was for Gandalf to deny seeing the objects before. Gandalf replied that he hadn't intended to, anyways, and then the Mouth of Sauron went on to name the terms he wanted for the return of Frodo and Sam. Gandalf did seem to be wavering, and suddenly he glanced back at me. I arched an eyebrow and smiled in amusement, glancing at the embassy.  
  
"You might want to capture the owner of those objects before you try and barter him off." I said dryly and loudly, and the embassy's head shot in my direction, as did everybody else's. The amused smile was still on my face, and it seemed to enrage the embassy. The rage on his face grew as Gandalf rejected Sauron's terms, saying that even if they had had the hobbit, the terms were too much to trade for just one spy. He then took the mithril coat, sword and cloak from the messenger, before telling the Mouth of Sauron, basically, to get lost. The embassy hesitated, and his eyes rested on me, where I stood, still smiling with amusement.  
  
"Thou may think that because you have one with you who can see the future thou shalt succeed, but none can stand against the Dark Lord!" were the embassy's parting words, almost spit in Gandalf's face. Then the Mouth of Sauron turned, leapt onto his horse, and galloped back to Cirith Gorgor. On the way back, his men blew on their horns in an arranged signal, and the trap in which we'd so readily become bait was sprung.  
  
The Black Gate opened, and the army of Mordor came swirling out. From the other three directions, other armies appeared, blocking all our escape routes. The captains and I mounted and rode back to the army quickly, and I stuck myself right next to Aragorn, Gandalf and Haldir - who were all on the same hill, conveniently enough. We stood on the hill outside the gate, watching, as we were surrounded by the armies of Mordor.  
  
Then the hosts came on, and the battle began. For the most part, I was not involved in the battle. Haldir disappeared sometime to help his men, so I was left up on the hill with Aragorn and Gandalf as they directed the army, and was quite safe. But eventually the armies of Mordor broke through and soon the entire hill was covered in men and Orcs fighting. I myself fought, though it seemed almost by instinct that I countered the enemies swords, and I can't outright remember killing ANYTHING in that battle, though I'm sure I must have. On the whole, though, I remembered little more of that battle then I remembered of the battle in Moria - I remembered the stink, the death, the movement of my own body, exactly when I got each wound and how much it hurt, and that was about it.  
  
Then the Nazgul came, and the battle got even more desperate. The armies of Mordor seemed to take courage from the Nazgul, while the Nazgul seemed to leech the courage and spirit out of those fighting against Mordor. At any moment, I could look and see someone cut down because they could no longer stand the Nazgul and had fallen down in a quivering heap to be hewn where they lay by Orcs.  
  
And then Gandalf stirred, looking to the north, and cried out that the eagles were coming. I finished off the Orcs I was fighting with, and then dashed towards Gandalf, wanting to see the eagles. I had barely reached the wizards side, however, when a familiar throbbing struck up in my head, and I turned my head, instead of north, south, towards Barad-Ur. Blackness crept in on my vision, and Gandalf seemed to notice.  
  
I heard the wizard cry "She is not yours, Sauron!", and the blackness stopped for a moment, the throbbing stayed at the level it was at, but then it started growing again. I heard Gandalf say some more things, and suddenly the blackness was gone, as was the throbbing in my head. But in it's place, blazing over the Black Gate, was Sauron's Eye. I stared at it, dumbfounded. This was NOT supposed to be happening. But it was. I vaguely noticed the battle halting around me - the men collapsed in fear, the armies of Mordor groveled before their master. Only the Elves and the members of the Fellowship still stood.  
  
//Your fight is useless.// the voice rang out over the battlefield. //Whatever you hoped to accomplish in this foolish assault will fail. You cannot win.// Against the Eye of Sauron, every man on the field instantly became helpless, and all of the elves, as well. They were convinced we had failed. Only Aragorn, one of Elrond's twins sons - I couldn't tell which - and Gandalf still seemed to hold to the hope they would succeed. I myself had no fear of failing, since I knew that Frodo and Sam were in Mordor and would finish their quest at any moment - which gave me an idea.  
  
"You try to scare us into submission, Sauron. But it's not going to work." I said, and suddenly I had the eyes full attention.  
  
//So you have claimed leadership.// the voice rang throughout my head, and I fought a smile as I realized what Sauron meant.  
  
"I do not have your precious Ring, Sauron. I have not claimed leadership. I claim nothing but knowledge of the future. And my knowledge tells me this - it is both your blessing and your doom that you have bound your life force to your Ring. Look homeward, Sauron. Look homeward and see your doom." I smirked as the eye instantly disappeared. The Nazgul suddenly gave a screech and wheeled off towards Mount Doom, and Gandalf half-turned towards me, and angry expression on his face. But at that moment, the ground began to quake. The Black Gate and it's guard towers swayed, tottered, and fell down into a collection of rubble; and from far away, now dim, now growing, now mounting to the clouds, there came a drumming rumble, a roar, a long echoing roll of ruinous noise. Gandalf looked at me with no small amount of surprise, and I just smiled before he turned to look south.  
  
"The realm of Sauron is ended!" he said. "The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest." And as we all looked south to Mordor, it seemed as if a huge shape of a shadow rose, black against the pall of cloud, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. It reared up above us, enormous and terrible, but impotent: for even as it leaned over as if to smite us, a wind came up, and it was blown away like a cloud of so much dust. Quiet fell.  
  
Then, as one, the armies of Mordor turned and ran. Only those that had long been in Sauron's service, or were men and fiercely loyal to their non-deceased master, stayed. They were, however, no match for the armies of the Captains of the West. I watched as Aragorn, Eomer and the other captains organized their men to destroy the last bits of resistance, and then noticed out of the corner of my eye as Gwaihir landed and then took off with Gandalf and two other eagles towards Mordor.  
  
From that point on, I mostly lost track of what was going on. I think the main reason the books had not really explained what happened directly after the fall of Sauron is because so much was happening all at once. It seemed like everybody had ten things that needed to be done five minutes ago, and they were all scurrying about.  
  
I, of course, had absolutely nothing to do other then follow random members of the Fellowship around. So I followed Gimli for awhile, and was with him when he found Pippin under the carcass of the troll-chief. Did I mention how much trolls STINK? Getting Pippin out from underneath that corpse had been no pleasant job, let me tell you. But we got him out, and then got him healed. To keep the hobbit occupied, Gandalf asked me to stay with Pippin and talk to him while he healed, so that I did all the way to Ithilien. There the hobbit quickly recovered, and I went back to following random members of the Fellowship around. It was a habit all the Fellowship had picked up - following each other around - so it didn't look too odd when I did it.  
  
A few days after we arrived in Ithilien, I was following Aragorn around when he and the captains met in one of their tents to discuss what supplies they needed to request from Minas Tirith, and who they would like to come with the supplies. And, not very surprisingly, Aragorn decided he was going to send for Faramir.  
  
"Don't you dare." I piped up. I normally remained silent when following people around, so now all eyes turned to me, surprised, having forgotten I was there.  
  
"The Lord Faramir knows these woods well, it would indeed be good to have him with us." Prince Imrahil said pointedly.  
  
"Yeah, but Faramir's got some things to do in Minas Tirith." I said mildly, trying NOT to remember that I was arguing with royalty.  
  
"As I have heard it, since he has healed, his days have been his own. He has much free time, and he could make good use of that time here in Ithilien." Prince Imrahil insisted. The Prince had, I'd noticed, slowly grown to distrust me. It was probably because everybody else so readily trusted me.  
  
"Yes, Lord Faramir does have a lot of free time. Which he's spending in the Healing Hall with a certain Lady of Rohan." I said innocently, and Eomer's face turned from the slightly amused look of someone wondering if they should step in and stop an argument before it got nasty, to pure and utter shock. There was only one Lady of Rohan in Minas Tirith, so everybody knew exactly who I was talking about. Eomer opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, still looking very much in shock.  
  
"Very well, we shall not send for Lord Faramir." Aragorn said, an amused smile playing on his lips. Annoyance flashed across Prince Imrahil's face, and he seemed about to say something when suddenly Gandalf appeared. That effectively distracted the conversation from me, and I managed to slip out before Imrahil could remember again.  
  
When the meeting of the Captains of the West got out, I discovered that Eomer had decided to be very very nice to me, and it was quite amusing. Eomer was actually a very funny guy - he reminded me of Haldir when the elf was relaxed. Though I'm still slightly surprised that I managed to talk both him and Haldir into helping me give the soon-to-be-crowned-king-of-Gondor a bath in the river. I somehow think that they're both still kids at heart. And anyways, Aragorn needed to loosen up and find his sense of humour again. Which, after pulling Eomer into the river, as well, he did. Only Illuvatar knows what the guards that eventually came and found us thought. The King of Rohan, Heir to the throne of Gondor, Captain of the Lothlorien Guard, and me having a water fight - that's one to tell the grand children.  
  
As much as I was enjoying my stay in Ithilien, I found that more and more I wanted to go back to Minas Tirith. I went for walks a lot, and quite frequently, I found myself standing up on a hill or some other high spot, staring off in the direction of the White City. It was during one of these times, just after sunset a few days after the water fight in the river, that Haldir found me. He said nothing when he found me, simply walked up beside me, purposely making some noise so I knew he was there.  
  
"You miss him." though he spoke softly, Haldir's voice fell loudly in the surrounding silence.  
  
"I suppose I do." I replied just as softly, knowing Haldir would here me at whatever volume I spoke. I hadn't really thought about why I'd stared off to Minas Tirith whenever I got the chance - I guess I hadn't wanted to think about it, since I'd left the city still angry with Boromir. And suddenly, now that I was thinking about it, I realized that I'd already forgiven Boromir for what he'd said, and just wanted to go back to the City and be with him. That in turn made me realize that my feelings for Boromir ran very deeply. Normally someone had to practically beg me to forgive them if they got me so mad at them I had to hold a grudge - but I had already forgiven Boromir without him having time to say so much as a word.  
  
"There is nothing keeping you here. I'm sure Aragorn would grant you a guard if you wished to return to Minas Tirith ahead of us." Haldir spoke, breaking into my thoughts, and I turned my head slightly to look at him.  
  
"I'm not sure there's anything for me to go back to." I said. In truth, for all I know, Boromir could have decided I wasn't worth the trouble and given up on me. I never met one of the messengers from Minas Tirith the day we left, so there was no way I could have gauged WHY Boromir had been asking to talk to me. He could have wanted to apologize - or he could have wanted to tell me off. Or other numerous things that instantly popped into my mind. I mentally made a note that reading lots of strange romantic fantasy novels was bad.  
  
"What do you mean?" Haldir asked, concern in his voice, breaking into my thoughts once again.  
  
"You REALLY should have told me that garden we went to to talk in was the private one of the house you were staying in, you know." I said dryly. "Just as you should know that the Steward of a City knows just about everything that goes on in his city, even if he can't go anywhere himself." Haldir looked at me strangely, not quite getting what I was hinting at. "Boromir found out I spent the entire afternoon *alone* with you in your *private* garden, and let's just say that he drew some incorrect conclusions. I got a little angry and stormed off. Haven't talked to him since." There was a silence as Haldir digested this and figured out what I meant.  
  
"You had every right to be angry." I sensed a hint of anger in Haldir's voice, and turned to look at him fully. Sure enough, he did seem a little angry.  
  
"Hm, yes, but now I have no clue whether or not I'll even be welcome back in Minas Tirith." I said, looking towards the City once again. Then suddenly Haldir was in front of me, looking at me very seriously.  
  
"Do you love him?" The question caught me off guard, and I answered without thinking.  
  
"Yes." I said, and Haldir nodded.  
  
"Then go to him. If he does not love you, this shall be the time to discover it." the Elf said, and I blinked.   
  
"Y'know, I have no clue how old you are, but I am so glad you picked up some wisdom in the however many hundreds of years you've lived." I remarked, and Haldir grinned.  
  
"So am I." he said.  
  
"My dear Haldir, you seem to have picked up my sense of humour." I said wryly, and the elf just grinned again. The conversation continued on a light tone for awhile, and then Haldir wandered off, saying he needed some rest. I remained on the hilltop for awhile, and after awhile, I sat and dozed. The next thing I knew, I was standing in Lothlorien, Galadriel a few feet away. I blinked sleepily, glancing around, and Galadriel gave me a few moments to wake my mind before speaking.  
  
"My congratulations on the success of the quest." Galadriel said, and I blinked at her.  
  
"I really didn't have anything to do with that once Frodo and Sam left the Fellowship." I pointed out.  
  
"No indeed, but the rest of the quest has played out much as it was supposed to, despite two lives being spared." Galadriel replied.  
  
"Yeah - go me." I said tiredly. "Though if all you want to say is congratulations, I'd very much like to go back to sleep now." Galadriel smiled slightly.  
  
"Congratulations was only part of what I wished to say." the elf queen said, and her face suddenly turned serious before she continued. "It is time for you to go home, Erin Hean." That brought me instantly to attention.  
  
"I don't want to." I snapped.  
  
"What you want is not of importance here. Middle-Earth has tried it's best to remain on it's proper course, to keep events going as they should, despite your presence. But I can feel the strain on the world. If you stay much longer, Middle-Earth may tear itself apart. Do you WANT the blame for the death of a world on your shoulders?" Galadriel was in full terrifying-elven-queen mode now, and I cringed back. She'd looked freaky in the movie when she'd gone on to Frodo about what would happen if she took the Ring, but that was nothing compared to this. She positively RADIATED authority, and it was with great difficulty that I brought myself to argue with her.  
  
"With the quest ending, what other things could I possibly change that would cause stress to Middle-Earth?" I retaliated, growing more sure of myself with every word, and suddenly, when I finished, Galadriel was normal once more.  
  
"There are many changes that you may yet cause." Galadriel said quietly and menacingly, fixing me with an icy stare.  
  
"Name some." I said, feeling very much like a child talking back to their mother.  
  
"You may save yet more creatures of persons from death, and you may kill or cause the death of some creatures that were not meant to die. Most of all, there is the possibility that you may bring life into this world that was not meant to be." Galadriel's face and voice now were flat, without emotion, and I stared at her as her words sunk in. Bring life into the world that was not meant to be? There was the possibility that I could have KIDS?  
  
I sat down on the ground heavily as thoughts whirled through my head. Galadriel's words suddenly brought home to me where I was, what was going on, and the fact that I was *16* years old. No, wait, I'd been here several months, and it had been just under two months till my birthday when I arrived here. OK, I was 17. But that still didn't change the fact that here I was in Middle-Earth, claiming I'd fallen in love with Boromir, and refusing to go back and risking the destruction of the entire world for him. AND I WAS ONLY 17.  
  
I shook my head to clear it. Dwelling on my age was going to get no where, I could tell, so I decided to distract myself with something else.  
  
"How sure are you that my continued presence will cause Middle-Earth to die?" I asked Galadriel shakily. The Elven queen leaned towards me, and her eyes seemed to almost bore into me as she looked into my eyes intensely.  
  
"I have seen it in my mirror." she replied quietly. I gulped.  
  
"OK then." I said, recalling the very prophetic magical properties of Galadriel's mirror. "How do I go home?"  
  
"Drink this." Galadriel handed me a clear vial containing a bluish-silver liquid, and I looked at it curiously.  
  
"What's in it?" I asked.  
  
"Many things." was Galadriel's reply. "None of which you know of, and many of which are rare. This potion is one of a kind. No other can be made. And it will remain potent for only five days. If you do not use it within five days, it will become useless, and the only way to return to home would be to use great - and dangerous - magicks."  
  
"Ah." I said, eyeing the vial, more curious then ever as to what was in it. "How does it work? Will it take me to where I disappeared from? Or will it take me to wherever I think of?" I hoped that it was the latter, since then I could think of someplace on the other side of the world from my family and maybe have a new life, instead of having to return to the hell that was my home.  
  
"It will take you to the place from which you left your world." Galadriel replied, and my face fell.  
  
"How much time will have passed?" I asked, and Galadriel hesitated.  
  
"I do not know. You may return at the same instant, or to a time several months after you left." she said.  
  
"Oh this will be interesting." I grumbled. Galadriel looked at me oddly, but I didn't feel up to explaining my home life to her. Instead, I sighed.  
  
"So do I get to say goodbye to everyone?" I asked.  
  
"No. You must tell them that you are returning to Minas Tirith, and refuse an escort. When you are a days ride away, drink the potion." Galadriel replied. I looked at her, surprised.  
  
"So I get to let them believe that I've disappeared somewhere in-between Ithilien and Minas Tirith?" I asked, and Galadriel nodded. I shook my head, pursing my lips. I didn't like this disappearing without saying goodbye idea.  
  
"Will you tell them I've gone home if they ask?" I asked. Galadriel hesitated.  
  
"Of course." she said, and I nodded.  
  
"OK then." I took a deep breath. "Now can I go get some normal sleep before I start trying to convince Aragorn to let me go back to Minas Tirith without an escort?" Galadriel smiled slightly, and I barely saw her nod before Lothlorien faded away, and I drifted into a restful and dreamless sleep. 


	22. Moods, Galadriel AGAIN and Nighttime Rev

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"Around every corner lurks monsters. I should know. I am one." - Doctor Smith, 'Lost in Space' (the movie) - to Will Robinson  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chapters.  
  
~ Chapter XXII~  
  
~ Moods, Galadriel AGAIN and Nighttime Revelations ~  
  
Everybody walked on eggshells in Minas Tirith after Boromir recovered. He was moody, prone to going from laughing so hard he was crying to shooting looks that could kill with an eye blink. His brother, Faramir, tried many times to find out what was wrong with the man, but Boromir would not talk. The only clue as to the source of Boromir's moodiness was given when Faramir spotted his brother up in the Citadel, gazing East towards Mordor, a frown on his face.  
  
Then one day a great Eagle flew out of the East, crying out that Sauron had fallen, and the Captains of the West were victorious. All thought that their Lords moodiness would disapear with this joyous news, and it did - but instead of Boromir's mood lightening, it fell. He now prowled about the city and Citadel, looking for all the world like a thundercloud about to burst forth with a great torrent of rain and thunder and lightning.  
  
But still, despite his brothers angry moods, Faramir found his mind distracted by thoughts of another - the one who had stayed with him in the Healing Hall, the Lady Eowyn of Rohan. And soon he was forced to forget his troubled brother for awhile and go through his own feelings. The city, for it's part, livened up, even though it's Steward did not.  
  
Tidings came by swift riders from Cair Andros of all that was done at the Black Gates and Ithilien, and the City made ready for the coming of their King. Merry was summoned and rode away with the wains that took store of goods to Osgiliath and thence by ship to Cair Andros. Faramir remained, unsummoned, especially glad for that when he learned that though Eowyn had been summoned by her brother, she was not going.  
  
Then the City's joy rose as Faramir and Eowyn were spotted on the walls of the Healing Hall, kissing, not caring who saw. Boromir's mood lightened for awhile when his brother told him that he was intending to marry the Lady of Rohan, but it soon fell again, deeper into depression then before.  
  
But life went on, as people poured into the City to make it ready for the coming of their King. The City was once more filled with women and fair children that returned to their homes laden with flowers; and from Dol Amroth came the harpers that harped most skillfully in all the land; and there were players upon viols and upon flutes and upon horns of silver, and clear-voiced singers from the vales of Lebennin.  
  
Then one night a single messenger came riding into the City from the east, and said that he had a message for the Lord Steward, Boromir. He would tell it to no other, nor even hint at it's contents. And Boromir recieved the messenger alone, so that none but he were there to hear the messengers words.  
  
When the messenger left the next morning, the City discovered that at last their Stewards mood had lightened. He was joyful and greeted those in the city cheerfully, and all was happy for several days. But after several days, Boromir's mood began to slip - to fall back into the depression that it had come up so quickly from - but this time, it seemed tinged with worry. And soon Boromir was once more a walking thundercloud. None dared approach him unless they had no other choice.  
  
Soon rumblings began in the City, rumours that the Steward was resentful that the King was returning. It was said that he wanted to retain his office, and would refuse to give it up. The Lord Faramir, not knowing what was the matter with his brother, but knowing that resentment was not the cause, tried his best, along with the Lady Eowyn, to stop the rumours. The only thing that changed, however, was that the people of the City began to mumble that they would be much better off with Faramir as their Steward then Boromir.   
  
And then came the King. Queen Galadriel, watching in her mirror, was quite relieved to see that the ceremony of welcoming the Lords of Gondor back remained much the same as it was supposed to. But there was really no worry of that - for Gondor was an ancient land, steeped in tradition, and even if the Steward of the City was deeply troubled, he would not go so far as to break that tradition. Still, all wondered why, almost directly after his coming to the City, the King and the Steward, along with their 7 other companions and the Captain of the Lothlorien Guard, locked themselves in a room and would allow no one to disturb them.  
  
"She insisted I let her go without an escort, Boromir! It took me an entire day to convince her to let me send a messenger ahead of her!" Aragorn said, clearly annoyed at the man who was pacing around the room.  
  
"You could have ordered her to take one with her!" Boromir retorted. "Or sent one secretly behind her!"  
  
"She would not have listened to an order, Boromir, and there was no way an escort could have followed her secretly through the land she was travelling in." Gandalf said calmly. Boromir opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it without saying anything, collapsed into one of the nearby chairs and glared at the wall.  
  
"Perhaps we should go back and see if we can track her trail." Haldir suggested.  
  
"It would be immpossible even for you to pick up, Haldir. We came the same way as she would have. All her tracks will be long gone, drowned in the armies." Aragorn said tiredly, and Haldir looked at him steadily.  
  
"Erin's sense of direction is not the best. We do not know how long she stayed on the correct course. She could simply be lost." the Elf said calmly.  
  
"That is very possible." Merry piped up. A few of the ten people in the room almost smiled, remembering Erin's sense of direction, but then returned to serious.  
  
"Even if she is just lost, she will have long ago run out of food. It has been close to a month since she set out from Ithilien." Gandalf said.  
  
"But if she left with weapons, she could have found more food in the wilds." Boromir put in, looking hopeful.  
  
"Boromir, this is foolishness. Even if you do manage to pick up her tracks - which is very doubtful - Orcs are roaming all over the countryside, as are men who were loyal to Sauron. It will be dangerous to go anywhere without a large escort for quite awhile." Aragorn said calmly.  
  
"And yet you let the lady Erin go without any type of escort." Boromir spat, momentarily forgetting that the man he was talking to was now his King.  
  
"We have covered the reasons for that already." Aragorn replied, his voice hardening.  
  
"What's the harm in looking?" Sam piped up. "I know if I was lost I wouldn't wander until I found my way home, but stay put until someone found me. Perhaps Lady Erin is waiting for us to come find her." Aragorn sighed, and dropped his head into his hands.  
  
"Very well." he said tiredly after a moment. "But take only those with you that wish to go, and do not search overly long. If you have not found the lady Erin, or any trace of her, within a month, return to Minas Tirith." He fixed Boromir with a look that made it clear it was not a request, but an order. Boromir's face hardened, determined to find the woman he loved before he was forced to return to Minas Tirith.  
  
"I will go with you." Haldir volunteered immediatly after Aragorn had given his permission to search for Erin. Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Gimli subsequently volunteered, but Merry and Pippin ended out staying behind, as they were both still recovering from wounds, and were knights of Gondor and Rohan and could not leave without their Lords permission.  
  
Though Boromir would have set out that very day to search for Erin, he was forced to remain in the City for two more days as preparations were made, and more volunteers were found. Two elves, a dwarf, and a man would not be safe alone in the countryside, no matter how skilled with weapons they were. It was on the second night after the descision to search for Erin and Boromir had an encounter that Erin had had twice before - one with Galadriel in the realm of dreams.  
  
"Your search is foolish." the elven queen said without preamble.  
  
"It may be, but I shall not rest until I have at least tried to find her." Boromir said stubbornly.  
  
"Even if your trying causes the death of the two that Erin fought so hard to keep alive?" Galadriel asked. "Without the child here to keep you and Haldir alive, it is very likely that you shall die." Boromir had a moment of surprise at the revelation of who the other being that Erin had saved the life of was, but quickly filed the piece of information away for later thought and concentrated on the current topic.  
  
"Without Erin, I am already half dead. Haldir comes of his own free will - warn him if you wish, but I will not let Erin go without looking." Boromir said. Galadriel did not reply, but looked deep into Boromir's eyes, as if she was searching for something.  
  
"You shall not find her, however hard you look, Boromir." Galadriel said finally, calmly. "She has gone home."  
  
"The I shall go and find her home." Boromir said firmly.  
  
"That you may do. But are you sure you shall be welcomed by her?" Galadriel said, and at that, Boromir paused. "If she returned home instead of to you, does that not say something about her feelings for you? You did not part on the best of terms." Boromir wavered now, as unsure of himself as Erin had been of herself when she spoke to Haldir on that hill in Ithilien a month ago.  
  
"Think well on this." Galadriel said softly, her gaze piercing as she watched Boromir, and then she, and Lothlorien, faded away, leaving Boromir to his sleep.  
  
But he did not sleep long. When one has troubled thoughts, they tend not to sleep well, and Boromir was no exception. Within minutes he awoke to the dark of his room, thoughts already scrambling through his brain. When he could stand the dark loneliness of his room no longer, he rose and dressed, then went out to the gardens of the Citadel, where he sat and looked out over the city.  
  
And so Haldir found Boromir as he wandered the gardens, his thoughts troubled, as well, with thoughts of the lady Erin and how strange her demand to go without an escort or guide had been. Haldir had not spoken to Boromir alone since he had returned to Minas Tirith, and indeed, after what Erin had told him of her last talk with the man, he was not inclined to until Boromir apologised to Erin. He made to pass right by the man, as if he had not seen him, but then Boromir spoke.  
  
"I had a strange dream tonight." Boromir said, stopping Haldir in his tracks. "I dreamt I was in Lothlorien, and talking to Galadriel." Haldir remained silent and still, unsure where the tale was going. "She told me that my search for Erin was foolish, and then asked me if I knew if Erin would welcome me even if I found her." Neither the elf or man had moved since Boromir began speaking, but now Boromir slowly turned his head to look at Haldir, and the elf saw the uncertainty in the man's eyes. The elf still did not reply, however, and Boromir continued after a pause, his voice halting. "She also told me that yours was the other life that Erin saved." That cause a reaction in the elf, even if it was only his eyebrows raising ever so slightly. Boromir turned back towards the city before continuing again. "I do not know if Erin told you of our last encounter -"  
  
"She did." Haldir spoke for the first time, and Boromir nodded in the elfs direction.  
  
"Then you know that we did not part on the best of terms. And for that I am eternally sorry. I tried to speak with her before she left, to apologize, but she would not come to me, and the healers would not let me leave the hall, let alone the city." Boromir said with a sigh. "And now she's gone home, and I do not know if I-"  
  
"Did you say Erin has gone home?" Haldir interupted, and Boromir looked at the elf. He could have sworn there was a note of panic in the elfs voice.  
  
"Yes, Queen Galadriel told me Erin had gone home." Boromir confirmed, eyeing the elf. Then his eyes widened as a string of swears worse then any sailors erupted from the elfs mouth.  
  
"Lord Haldir, what -" Boromir began with a frown once the elf had stopped, only to be hauled roughly to his feet before he even knew Haldir had moved.  
  
"Come, we must speak with Elessar." Haldir said by way of an explanation, and then set off towards the Citadel, dragging Boromir behind him. Boromir, thoroughly confused, was dragged for several steps before he decided he would get an explanation quicker if he co-operated, and picked up his pace to match the elfs. Haldir, as soon as Boromir had matched his pace, sped up, and Boromir was inclined to match the new pace. This contined until the two were running through the Citadel to Aragorn's chambers.  
  
Paying no heed to the guards that tried to block his way, Haldir went into Aragorns chambers and pounded loudly on the bedroom door. A very cross looking Aragorn appeared after a short while, looking as if he'd very hastily dressed, but Haldir spared no time, instead grabbing Aragorn's arm, surprising the ex-ranger greatly, and dragging him along much as he'd started with Boromir.  
  
"Now where are we going?" Boromir asked, more curious than annoyed. In the times he had seen around Elves, he had never seen one act the way Haldir was acting now.  
  
"To Mithrandir." Haldir replied as they brushed passed the guards in front of Aragorn's rooms again. They started to follow, readying their weapons, but Aragorn waved them back, getting over his surprise at being hauled around bodily by Haldir.  
  
"Haldir, Boromir, what is this about?" Aragorn asked crossly, shaking himself loose from Haldir's grip. Boromir shrugged.  
  
"Erin." was Haldir's reply. Aragorn sighed, and seemed ready to go back to his rooms, but at that point, they came upon Gandalf's rooms, and Haldir stormed into them, as well, and was about to pound on the bedroom door when a very awake Gandalf opened it.  
  
"For an Elf you make an awful lot of noise." The wizard said crossly.  
  
"Erin's gone home." Haldir said flatly. Aragorn and Gandalf stared at the elf, and Boromir got the feeling that there was some special meaning behind those words that he was missing.  
  
"Well, she has finally gone." Gandalf said thoughtfully, getting over his surprise first.  
  
"I hardly see why that is a reason to drag us out of bed, Haldir." Aragorn said tiredly.  
  
"She has not told you of her home, has she?" Haldir said, staring intensely at the Man and Wizard.  
  
"She has told the entire Fellowship of her home." Boromir said crossly.  
  
"I talk of her true home." Haldir snapped in reply.  
  
"What do you mean, her true home?" Boromir asked, frowning slightly.  
  
"It is a complicated story, Boromir." Gandalf said, looking disturbed. "Let us sit while we tell it." The wizard motioned to the chairs in the room behind them, and they all took seats. Haldir sat still for a moment, then began glancing about restlessly as Gandalf started to talk.  
  
"First of all, you should know that Erin is not of Middle-Earth." Gandalf said, and Boromir blinked increduously at the wizard. "Of that tale she told you about her home, the only parts that were true is that she came from a place called Canada, knows the future, and used that knowledge to save your and Haldir's lives." Now Boromir frowned, but did not say anything as Gandalf continued with the explanation of where Erin was truely from.  
  
"And there is more that she has not told even you, Gandalf." Haldir spoke up when Gandalf was finished, and he proceeded to tell them what Erin had told him about her home. The four sat in silence when Haldir had finished, trying to work their minds around the fact that Erin had grown up in such a place as Haldir had described, and had now - apparently willingly - gone back to it.  
  
"She told me once that she hated her home. And now I know why." Boromir said softly after awhile.  
  
"Yes, but if she hates her home, then why has she returned to it?" Aragorn asked. Haldir's eyes turned to Boromir, and so Aragorn's gaze followed.  
  
"The last time I saw her, I...accused...her of some things I should not have even thought of." Boromir said bitterly. "But I cannot see her returning to her...home simply because of that." Boromir had spat out the word home, but now his face turned to an expression of worry.  
  
"There are many reasons other then you, Boromir, that could have caused her to return home." Gandalf said gravely. "How did you discover that she'd returned home, Haldir?"  
  
"Lady Galadriel told me, and I told Haldir." Boromir said. Gandalf nodded.  
  
"I shall go and talk with Galadriel, then." Gandalf said, rising. "In the mean time, you had best call off your search. We know where she is now." Boromir nodded, and rose to follow, along with Haldir and Aragorn, as Gandalf strode out of his room. Once outside, they said farewell to each other, and went their seperate ways - Gandalf to the stables and Shadowfax, Aragorn to bed, and Haldir and Boromir to see to the cancelling of the search. Out of the four of them, only Aragorn got any more sleep that night, and even his sleep was troubled. 


	23. Chapter 23

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"Life sucks. Death is only slightly more amusing." - BlackFang (someone from the online Muck of Alfandria)  
  
"I'm always amazed anyone's interested in what I have to say." - Orlando Bloom  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
I don't own Boromir, or any part of Middle-Earth, nor any of the characters in it. I do, however, own Erin, her family, and her home.  
  
~ Chapter XXIII~  
  
~ Chapter 23 ~  
  
WARNING: This chapter is rated R for mature subjects, situations and naughty language.  
  
Much to the dismay of Boromir, and the members of the Fellowship remaining in Minas Tirith, Gandalf did not return for quite awhile. In fact, he stayed in Lothlorien and came with Arwen's escort a month later. And then, of course, Boromir and the rest of the Fellowship were obliged to put their concern for Erin on hold for Aragorn and Arwen's wedding. It was not until several days later that anyone was able to bring up the topic of Erin and her home. And then, Gandalf refused to say anything until all the Fellowship was together.  
  
That, of course, took some doing. The hobbits were easy enough to find, and Boromir had been the one to ask Gandalf in the first place. But Legolas was nowhere to be found, Gimli was hiding in his room from all the elves that were not as understanding as Legolas, and, well, it doesn't take many brains to know where Aragorn was. They managed to coax Gimli out of his room, however, and Legolas appeared not long after. Aragorn, they ended out leaving to his own devices.  
  
Boromir was eager to know exactly what Gandalf had gone to speak with Galadriel about, and what had come of it, but first Gandalf had to explain to those of the Fellowship where Erin had truly come from, and then what they'd learned about Erin's home from Haldir. The hobbits, of course, were quite shocked, and Gimli and Legolas looked rather angry. Especially when they discovered that Erin had returned home.  
  
"Surely she did not go back there willingly?" Legolas asked when Gandalf was done.  
  
"She did." Gandalf replied solemnly. "Her presence here changed many things. Without her, one member of your Fellowship would be dead, among other things. And those changes have begun to take their toll on Middle-Earth. Lady Galadriel has sensed it - a feeling as if the world is struggling to hold itself to something. She feared that Middle-Earth was spiraling towards it's own destruction. Not in a great battle, but slowly fading out into oblivion as it can no longer hold itself together in the wake of the changes Erin has made. I have felt the world struggling, as well, but I do not believe Galadriel has come to the right conclusion. There are many things the world could be struggling for or against, and I do not sense destruction in the future if Erin comes back to and stays in Middle-Earth." Silence fell when Gandalf finished.  
  
"So if Erin went back because she believed her continued presence would destroy Middle-Earth, and it will not, should we not tell her so?" Boromir asked finally.  
  
"It is not that simple, Boromir." Gandalf said with a sigh. "It takes great magic to go between our world and Erin's, and from what we have heard of her world, there is no one there to wield the magic's that would similarly be needed to return."  
  
"So we can get there, but not back?" Frodo asked, and Gandalf nodded.  
  
"Is there no way at all?" Boromir asked, frowning.  
  
"There is one way. It has never been tried before, and thus the results could vary. It may succeed spectacularly, or all involved could die. Or worse." Gandalf replied gravely. "Once the spell began, it would be easy to tell whether or not it would fail. But once begun, the spell cannot be stopped."  
  
"Even if I cannot return, I will go to Erin's world." Boromir said quietly in the silence that followed.  
  
"If that is what you wish." Gandalf said, looking intensely at the Man before him.  
  
"It is." Boromir said firmly.  
  
"I cannot guarantee that those I would need to help me cast the spell to bring you back will be willing to even try. The risk is great, and the possible outcomes too numerous to count." Gandalf said sternly, and Boromir nodded.  
  
"I know. But I will not stay here by myself when there is a chance that I may be able to be with Erin. Without her, I am only half of a whole." the Man said, a challenge in his eyes, daring any to contest his claim. None did.  
  
"Then prepare yourself and come to the courtyard at sundown." the wizard said. "I must prepare myself." With that, the wizard turned and the left the room. Behind him, silence reigned as the group slowly rose and departed, each going their own way.  
  
Come sundown, the group reassembled in the courtyard in front of the Citadel, with the additions of Aragorn, Arwen and Haldir. Haldir, for his part, looked a little upset. It was discovered later that he'd tried to go, as well, but Gandalf would not let him, and Galadriel had forbade him to. The Fellowship wished Boromir good luck, and Gandalf explained that he could not transport Boromir directly to where Erin was, but he would land somewhere within a 100-foot radius of where Erin was. Then Gandalf told everybody to stand back from Boromir, and he stood back as well as he prepared to begin the spell to take Boromir to Erin's world.  
  
When he was ready, Gandalf raised his staff above his head before beginning a chant in some tongue long forgotten by all but the wizards, and perhaps the older creatures in the world, such as the Ents. At first, all was quiet except for Gandalf's chanting, and nothing seemed to be happening, but gradually, a light seemed to grow around Gandalf's staff, and then reach out towards Boromir. It swirled around him like a mist, and a light wind picked up, swirling around Boromir, not-quite-heard voices whispering in it. The light wound around and around, until finally Boromir was completely hidden from the view of those in the courtyard, and then suddenly - it was gone. All was calm, and Gandalf sighed, lowering his staff.  
  
"It is done." he said.  
  
---  
  
Boromir glanced about himself as the light dissipated. He was no longer in the courtyard of the Citadel, that was for sure. But any more then that and that he was inside somewhere, he did not know. So he began to inspect the room carefully.  
  
The room was dark, with no windows, and seemed quite large, yet some light seeped into the room, enough for Boromir to see. There were boxes all around the room, and more then once Boromir almost ran into an unseen pile. Gradually, Boromir realized that there was no way out of the room, unless one followed the stairs which seemed to lead towards the one source of light in the room, and so follow the stairs he did. At the top, he came to a door, and listened there for awhile to hear if anyone was beyond it. He could here nothing close by, so he quietly opened the door and stepped out.  
  
After recovering from the sudden brightness of full daylight, Boromir came face to face with 21st-century technology. There were strange humming boxes, with various different features on them, and many other strange objects that looked familiar, yet more...modern. Boromir also came face to face with the mess that was Erin's house. It was dirty there, dirtier then Moria, in Boromir's opinion. Though it was obvious someone lived there, it was also obvious that they had not bothered to clean in quite awhile. Grime covered everything, and piles of random, strange things were on the floors, table, chairs, counters - any available surface.  
  
One thing that caught Boromir's eye among the mess was the familiar hilt of a sword, hidden under a pile of dirty clothes. Stepping carefully through the mess, Boromir reached down and gingerly pulled the sword out from under the mess. Sure enough, it was Erin's sword. Glancing around, Boromir looked for any more signs that Erin had been there, but found none. So he slid the sword into his belt and decided to look further.  
  
There were three exits from this room - one seemed to be to the outside, another to a large room, and the last one led down a hallway. Glancing into the large room, Boromir saw no one, and so he went down the hallway. Coming upon a closed door, he stopped for a moment and considered opening it. He dismissed that idea, however, deciding to come back to the door if further searching did not reveal any hint of Erin's whereabouts, and he moved on to the next door, which was slightly open.  
  
The room beyond was a bedroom, apparently for two people. Knowing that was not Erin's room, Boromir moved on to the next door, also partly open. A glance inside revealed a room containing a bathtub, along with several other strange contraptions Boromir did not recognize.  
  
Boromir left that room alone, and moved on to the next door, which was completely open. It revealed a messy, black bedroom. Glancing around, Boromir saw pictures of strange people on the walls and ceiling, and many strange devices scattered about the room. There was no one in this room, however, and since Boromir could not even see the floor, he did not venture further into the room. He moved on to the final door, which was open only a small bit. Carefully creaking it open a small amount, he discovered it was a closet.  
  
At that moment, there came the sound of a voice from back down the hall, causing Boromir to start. It had been deadly silent until that moment, and the noise was surprising. Stepping silently, Boromir headed back down the hall, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Listening, he heard unidentifiable noises coming from beyond the closed door that he had first passed by. Boromir pondered again whether or not he should open the door, but finally decided he should.  
  
So he carefully and quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Beyond was another bedroom, this one actually sort of neat, and quickly glancing about, Boromir thought that this, perhaps, was Erin's room. And then his eyes fell to the bed, where a couple were in the middle of - Boromir averted his eyes and spun on his heal, intending to leave the room, embarrassed at having entered. But something caught his eyes and made him stop.  
  
On the floor, by the bed, crumpled and shoved out of the way, were some very distinctly Elven clothes. The most notable object, the one that had caught his eye, was the brooch from Lothlorien. Slowly, dreading, Boromir's eyes returned to the bed, and he saw without a doubt that one of the two on the bed was Erin.  
  
Boromir froze, his eyes locked onto Erin's face, mind refusing to work, refusing to believe what he was seeing. Then his mind slowly began to work again, and he began to notice other things. Namely, that Erin seemed limp and unresponsive to the ministrations of the man above her, who was so absorbed in what he was doing that he had not even noticed Boromir's entrance. Mind working furiously, Boromir's eyes flitted around, and noticed more things. Erin's wrists were bound together and tied to the top of the bed. There was a deadness in her eyes, as if she was no longer paying attention to the world around her. The man above her had a glint in his eyes that Boromir had seen one too many times in the eyes of Orcs on the rare occasion that one had spotted a female.  
  
In two strides, Boromir was at the bed, his sword drawn. The man barely had time to realize that there was someone else in the room before he felt the cold, sharp steel of a blade against his throat. Slowly, getting his mind used to working, the man turned his head to look at Boromir.  
  
"Who're you?" The man spat after a silence.  
  
"Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor." Boromir replied icily. "Who are you?" The man had the audacity to laugh.  
  
"What are you, some kind of nutcase?" he demanded, and Boromir pushed his sword harder against the man's throat. Instantly, the man ceased laughing.  
  
"Who. Are. You. ?." Boromir asked again, voice low and menacing.  
  
"Mark Hean." the man replied, eyes wide. Boromir, having been told Erin's full name by Gandalf, looked startled at hearing this man use the same name. The man seemed to take courage from Boromir being startled, and spoke up again, his eyes flashing now.  
  
"I dunno know who ya really are, buddy, but you're trespassin. This is my house, and I don't remember ever seein ya before or invitin you into my house." he said boldly.  
  
"I doubt that even in this strange world one needs to be invited in to stop such an act as you were committing." Boromir said, his eyes narrowing as his anger increased.  
  
"What do you know?" Mark spat back. Boromir was about to snap a reply, but at that moment, life seemed to return to Erin, and she shifted underneath the weight of the man on top of her, groaning slightly.  
  
"Get off of her." Boromir said icily, adding more pressure to his sword to be sure Mark obeyed. The man scrambled off Erin, and Boromir shot him a warning glance before sheathing his sword. Staunchly ignoring the fact that Erin was wearing exactly nothing, Boromir knelt next to the bed and gently lifted up Erin's head.  
  
"Erin?" he asked softly, concern in his voice. Erin groaned again, and her eyes slipped closed. But she leaned towards Boromir, and when he took his knife and cut the ropes that tied her hands to the bed, she quickly latched onto Boromir's arm. Now Boromir turned to glare at Mark, who was at the end of the bed.  
  
"Who are you?" the man asked again, suspiciously. "Are you someone Erin met when she ran away?"  
  
"Yes, I am." Boromir said, his voice almost a snarl.  
  
"Are you a cop?" the man asked, worry suddenly in his eyes.  
  
"I do not know what a 'cop' is, so I would say no, I am not." Boromir replied, and Mark heaved a sigh of relief. And then his eyes blazed.  
  
"Well if ya ain't a cop, then you got no business in my house!" he growled. "Nor do you have any business with my daughter!" Then he, foolishly, launched himself at Boromir. The knowledge that this man was Erin's father and had still been doing such things to her only enraged Boromir, and within moments, Mark was lying, dazed, at the base of the opposite wall. Boromir drew his sword, his anger blinding him as he raised his blade to end the life of the disgusting creature before him, but at that moment, Erin came into her full consciousness.  
  
"No, don't!" she exclaimed as she saw Boromir with his sword raised. Boromir instantly sheathed his sword and returned to the bed. Erin seemed to eye Boromir warily as he came over to the bed, and flinched back when he reached out to cup her cheek. Boromir looked at her, confused.  
  
"Erin, I will not hurt you." he said softly.  
  
"I...I know." she replied, but still she eyed him warily. Then, cautiously, she reached out and lightly touched his arm, drawing back almost immediately after doing so.  
  
"Are...are you...real?" she asked hesitantly, biting her lip.  
  
"I am." Boromir confirmed, and then, to his surprise, Erin curled into a ball and began to cry. Glancing over at Erin's father, Boromir saw that he was still dazed, and decided it would be best to leave the room. He pulled the cape from Lothlorien out of the scrunched pile near the bed, and lay it carefully over Erin before gathering her into his arms. Grabbing the remainder of her Elvish clothes, he lifted her and carried her out of the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
He took Erin to the large room off of the second room he'd seen upon entering this world, since he remembered seeing a seat of some sort there. He remembered correctly, and he carefully set Erin down on the couch before sitting next to her. She immediately leaned on his shoulder, and as she continued to cry, Boromir looked around more thoroughly.  
  
The room appeared to be a gathering place of some sort, and there was another door to the outside world on one wall, along with a large - curtained - window. Other then that, and the door by which Boromir had entered, there were no exits from the room. There were several other strange devices in the room, and Boromir couldn't even begin to guess what each of them was for.  
  
"I kept dreaming that you'd come." Erin's voice was soft, and she was speaking in-between sobs, so Boromir barely heard it.  
  
"And now I am here." Boromir said softly, and lightly kissed Erin's forehead.  
  
"Don't leave me." Erin said suddenly, and her hand clutched onto Boromir's shirt, her eyes intense.  
  
"I will not leave you." Boromir promised. Erin nodded, and then crawled into Boromir's lap and held on to him tightly. There had been no more then a few moments of silence before suddenly the door from the outside banged open, and a woman dressed in skimpy clothes came sauntering in. Boromir instinctively leaped to his feet and drew his sword after moving Erin off him and onto the couch so she would not end out on the floor. The woman, instantly spotting Boromir, stopped, and looked him up and down. Erin, on the couch, looked fearfully up at Boromir, and then back to the woman.  
  
"Well well. What have we here?" the woman broke the silence with her sultry voice, walking seductively closer to Boromir. She stopped as he brought the point of his sword to her chest, but then she just smiled coyly and brushed the blade off to the side before coming uncomfortably close.  
  
"And who might you be?" the woman's voice was almost a purr, and Boromir eyed her warily.  
  
"I am Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor." he replied.  
  
"Mmm, I'm sure..." the woman said, looking Boromir up and down again, and then laughed, turning to Erin on the couch.  
  
"My dear, I don't know where you managed to find this one, but thank you. Those adolescents you kept bringing home were nice and energetic, but it will be nice to have someone a little more...experienced...for once." the woman's catty smile made Erin's eyes go wide, and her eyes flitted to Boromir before she whimpered and curled into a tighter ball. Boromir, for his part, was not liking the implications of what the woman said, and stepped back from the woman, determined to find out what was going on.  
  
"Oh come now, I don't bite." the woman said, flashing Boromir a seductive smile and coming even closer to him then she had before. She reached out and lightly trailed her hand down Boromir's chest, and as she went, her smile grew wider as she realized in exactly how good shape Boromir was.  
  
"I suggest you stop, lady." Boromir said calmly. The woman did not, however, and Boromir was forced to brushed her hand away before it went any lower then his stomach, now more annoyed with then worried about the woman. He sheathed his sword and stepped around her, going over to Erin where she was on the couch.  
  
He approached concerned, and Erin watched him almost fearfully. Or rather, she watched the woman beyond his shoulder. For good reason. Before Boromir could even realize what had happened, he was on the couch, the woman straddling him as she caught his lips in fierce, passionate kiss. Recovering from his shock rather quickly, Boromir angrily shoved the woman off him. She landed on the floor in an undignified heap with a squeal of protest, and Erin looked between the woman and Boromir in shock.  
  
"Come, Erin, let us leave." Boromir said, his voice tinged with anger, and Erin nodded vigorously, then seemed to realize she wasn't wearing anything. Spotting her Elvish clothes on the couch, she grabbed them and, after glancing around for a moment, dove behind the couch to get changed. Boromir half-smiled at the realization that Erin's modesty was still very much there, and then he returned to glaring at the woman on the floor, who was looking at him in utter shock.  
  
When Erin reappeared from behind the couch, she was fully dressed, and Boromir handed her her sword. As she strapped it on, her father suddenly appeared in the room, looking angry and holding a strange grey object, which he pointed menacingly at Boromir. Boromir, not knowing what the object could do, eyed it warily, especially since Erin seemed to freeze with fear the instant she saw it.  
  
"Mark, do you know who the fuck this bastard is?" the woman on the ground spat as she rose. Her manner had changed completely - she'd gone from seductive to stuck-up and saucy.  
  
"Naw, but he'll be fucking dead ina moment if he doesn't explain who the fuck he is and what the fuck he's doing here!" Mark growled.  
  
"I have told you who I am, and I am here for Erin." Boromir replied calmly. "And now that I have found her, I shall be leaving with her." he made a move as if to go towards the door, but Mark moved the object off to the side and there was a loud noise before he brought it back to bear of Boromir, who was staring in shock at the hole in the wall that had appeared moments after the loud noise.  
  
"You're not going fucking anywhere!" Mark yelled. "Especially not with my daughter!" There was silence, and Boromir remained still. Erin's eyes were wide with fear, and she seemed rooted to the spot. It made Boromir sad to see this woman who had stood face to face with Sauron himself and remained fearless, suddenly paralyzed with fear.  
  
"Glory, go call the police." Mark said calmly after awhile, seeing that Boromir was not planning on moving.  
  
"You should just fucking shoot him." the woman - Glory - spat, but turned on her heel and left the room. The tense silence was broken as Erin suddenly whimpered, and her eyes rolled back into her head as she went into a faint. Boromir, without thinking, leaped to catch Erin before she reached the ground, and the was another loud noise as Mark shot instinctively. He missed, and did not fire again as Boromir was now holding Erin close and he was not a good enough shot to be sure he'd hit Boromir and not Erin.  
  
"Get the fuck away from my daughter, you fuckin bastard!" Mark snarled.  
  
"No." Boromir replied simply, anger burning in his eyes as he wondered where this man thought he had the right to be protective of Erin after what he had been doing to her.  
  
"YES!" Mark roared, anger blazing in his eyes, and another loud noise came, followed quickly by another hole in the wall. "I'm done fuckin warning you, bastard! The next shot won't fuckin miss! Get the hell away from my daughter!" Boromir stared stonily at the man, who seemed to waver for a moment under the stare. Then he seemed the regain his courage. "What the fuck are you doing now! Stop it, whatever you're doing!" Boromir looked curiously at the man, wondering what he was talking about, and then a light caught his eye, and he glanced down to see a familiar mist made of light swirling slowly around his feet. Still holding Erin, he slowly stood up.  
  
"What the FUCK?!" Glory exclaimed in a high-pitched squeak as she reappeared in the room. "Mark, stop whatever he's doing!"  
  
"I don't even know what he's fucking doing! How the fuck can I stop it?!" Mark snapped back.  
  
"Just shoot him, then!" Glory squealed, gripping Mark's arm in her fear. Mark decided that Glory's idea was a good one, and there was another loud noise as he shot at Boromir. Much to the amazement of everyone, however, there was a small clink and they all stared at the floor where the round metal object lay. Then the swirling light blocked the rest of the room from Boromir's sight, and Mark took up his shouting again. Boromir heard several more shots, and then he shut his eyes as the light flared to whiteness. 


	24. Explanations, Memories and Apologies

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"I live in my own little world, but it's okay, they know me here."  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See previous chapters  
  
~ Chapter III~  
  
~ Explanations, Memories and Apologies ~  
  
"They have returned!"  
  
"Yes, but I fear the transport was not smooth."  
  
"For any of us."  
  
"You had be-"  
  
"She has collapsed!"  
  
"They all have!"  
  
"Quickly, fetch Elrond!"  
  
---  
  
"She is recovering well."  
  
"All of them are."  
  
"She has had it worse then them, however."  
  
"Regardless, it was questionable whether any of them would survive that first night."  
  
"I do not need to be reminded."  
  
---  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"Better then she was."  
  
"That does not answer the question."  
  
"*sigh* She is well, but she has had it worse then the rest of you."  
  
"When will she recover?"  
  
"I do not know. Now go, you need your rest."  
  
---  
  
I came slowly into consciousness, the black oblivion slowly fading to the redness of light shining through my eyelids. Groaning, I moved my head, trying to get it out of the light. I only managed to get more light, however. I tried the other way, and this time succeeded in getting the light out of my eyes.  
  
I attempted to slip back into oblivion again, but my stomach was making noises at me, there were lumps in the bed beneath me, the pillow was hard, and my nose itched. Not to mention I was curious as to where I was. I had a feeling I was in Middle-Earth, as the voices I had heard in the sea of black oblivion came drifting back to me. They could very well have been figments of my imagination, though. I decided I'd settled the problem by opening my eyes, which I did, slowly.  
  
To my delight, I found myself in a room that very distinctly belonged to Middle-Earth. Of course, the presence of Haldir, standing against the wall, presumably asleep even though his eyes were open, helped that distinction tremendously. I started wondering why I was in Middle-Earth again, if my presence here would cause the world to be destroyed, but then I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. I had not asked to return, they had brought me back, and I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  
  
I shook my head carefully, and when no spots appeared in front of my eyes, I slowly raised myself up on one elbow. My movement seemed to catch the attention of Haldir, who's eyes slowly focused and turned to me. When he saw me staring back at him, he smiled widely.  
  
"You are awake!" he exclaimed.  
  
"No, I'm still sleeping. This is all a figment of your imagination." I said with a grin, and Haldir shook his head with amusement  
  
"I see your sense of humour has not suffered." he said.  
  
"A sense of humour can keep one sane even in the worst of times." I quipped in reply. I realized my nose was still itching, and something fierce, and I reached up to scratch it lightly before sitting up in the bed. My head spun slightly when I sat up, and Haldir was at the side of the bed, sitting on the side and supporting me, even before I could put a hand to my head.  
  
"You should probably not be sitting up." he observed.  
  
"Probably. But the beds beginning to feel lumpy." I replied. Haldir chuckled.  
  
"Ellesar would love to hear that. His best mattress - lumpy." the elf said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. I blinked, taking a moment to connect the name Ellesar to Aragorn.  
  
"Even the best mattress can feel lumpy after spending too long on it." I said dismissively. "How long have I been out, anyways?"  
  
"Three weeks." Haldir replied solemnly, and I gaped at him.  
  
"Three weeks? No wonder my stomachs telling me to feed it." I said, a little dazed.  
  
"Is it? Then I shall go get you some food." Haldir said, rising from the bed.  
  
"Sounds good to me! As long as you promise to tell me everything that has been happening while I eat." I said, and then glanced around. "And don't be gone too long. I keep feeling as if this whole room will disappear, and I'll find myself back-" I stopped and swallowed, flashes of memories from my trip 'home' appearing in my minds eye.  
  
"The room will not disappear." Haldir reassured me, concern showing on his face. He reached over and hugged me tightly, and I smiled my thanks at him. He gave me one last appraising look, as if considering whether or not he should leave, but then nodded and slipped out of the room. I looked about said room while he was gone, and discovered that it was actually quite finely furnished. I also decided that, from the type of furnishings in the room, I had to be in Minas Tirith.  
  
Idly, I tried to figure out what time it was here, and decided that it had to be sometime after Arwen had come to the city. I'd discovered, when I'd returned home, that the same amount of time had passed there as had in Middle-Earth. I assumed time had continued to flow at that rate, and that meant that I'd come back just a few days after Aragorn and Arwen were married. I smiled at the thought. I would have liked to have been here for that. I'd always wanted to see a Middle-Earth wedding. But Eowyn and Faramir's wedding was most likely still coming up, so I could see that one.  
  
At that point, Haldir returned with a tray of food, and the instant the smell hit my nose, my stomach growled loudly. Haldir arched an eyebrow in amusement, and I arched my eyebrow back at him. He chuckled and came over to the bed and set the tray on my lap, then settled himself at the foot of the bed.  
  
"So, tell me what happened from the moment I left Ithilien to now." I said before digging in, and Haldir smiled before starting his tale.  
  
"Not much happened until we reached Minas Tirith. Once we reached the city, Boromir surrendered his Stewardship and Aragorn took the throne, and the name Ellesar." Haldir began. "The Fellowship and I were the first to have an audience with him, and a distraught Boromir told us that you had not arrived in Minas Tirith. In that audience, it was decided to send out a search party for you. Boromir, Legolas, Gimli and I were the members of the Fellowship who would go with the party, which was to consist only of volunteers, as the country is still quite dangerous.  
  
"We were forced to remain behind for several days, and on the night before we left, Boromir had a Dream Meeting with Galadriel." I made a face at that, but did not interrupt, as I was too busy stuffing my face. Haldir chuckled before continuing. "Galadriel told Boromir that you had returned home, and when Boromir told me, I quickly realized that this was not a good thing. I roused Ellesar and Mithrandir out of bed and told them, and Boromir, what you had told me about your home."  
  
"I knew it was a good idea to tell someone." I remarked, slowing down in my eating just slightly, and Haldir nodded.  
  
"Indeed, if you had not told me of your home, I would not have bothered to waken Ellesar and Mithrandir about it." he said, then continued with his tale. "Mithrandir, after discovering that it was Galadriel who informed Boromir of your return home, set off on Shadowfax to talk with the Lady. Boromir and I were left in Minas Tirith to call off the search, and wait for Mithrandir's return.  
  
"He came with Arwen, and all those that came with her. Boromir was eager to know what Mithrandir had spoken with Lady Galadriel about, but we were obliged to wait until after Ellesar and Arwen's wedding. Afterwards, Mithrandir gathered the available members of the Fellowship, and told them of where you came from, and then explained that he had spoken with Galadriel, and what she had told you that caused you to decide to return home. Mithrandir apparently did not agree with Galadriel, but you would be best to ask him about that." I nodded as Haldir continued. I would definitely ask Gandalf about that.  
  
"Mithrandir also revealed that, though it is relatively easy to travel to your world, it is difficult to return. Boromir decided that even if he could not return, he would go to your world. Once more, I suggest you ask him about that." Haldir smiled slightly, and I wondered exactly what I was supposed to ask Boromir about before Haldir continued "It was decided, and that very day we met in the courtyard and Mithrandir transported Boromir to your world. I had come as a guard to Galadriel and Celeborn. Once Boromir had gone, Mithrandir was able to use a palantir to see when Boromir found you, and once he did, he asked Galadriel to help him return the two of you two to Middle-Earth.  
  
"Though the risks were great, Galadriel agreed, and they began to work their magics. The magics worked, of course, but they took a great toll on all of you. Lord Elrond and his sons, as well as Aragorn, spent much of their energy to keep you four alive during the first night. Many feared none of you would survive. But all of you did, Galadriel and Mithrandir staying abed no more then a week, Boromir only a few days more then them. You are the last to recover, and have had many of us worrying." Haldir concluded. I had finished my meal somewhere around the part where Boromir came to my world, and Haldir now left his seat to take the tray from my lap and put it on the table beside my bed.  
  
"And, of course, you had to wake as everyone but I had a rest." Haldir said with wry smile when he returned to the base of my bed.  
  
"Oh, is that why Lord Elrond hasn't come to check me over yet?" I asked, amused, and Haldir nodded.  
  
"He should come shortly, however. Elrohir saw me carrying the tray of food for you, and unless he truly believes that I can be hungry less then an hour after a good meal, he will have gone and told his father you are awake." Haldir replied.  
  
"Oh goody, a visit from the doctor." I said, making a face. "Though Elrond is a good sight better then any doctor in my world, I'm sure. More friendly, too." At that moment, there was a light knock on the door of the room.  
  
"Nobody's here!" I called, and the door opened to reveal an amused Elrond.  
  
"I see you are in good spirits." he said as he came over to my bed.  
  
"I'm well-rested, well-informed and fed, what do you expect?" I asked with a grin. Elrond just shook his head, still looking amused, and put his hand on my forehead. I went cross-eyed trying to look up at his hand, and Haldir was having a heck of a time keeping a straight, serious face.  
  
"You have recovered better then I expected." Elrond commented after a moment, taking his hand away from my forehead. "Though it would be best if you remained in bed for a few more days."  
  
"Ah phooey." I said. "I'm going to get so bored." Suddenly, at the thought of being bored, the question of whether Elves were ticklish came back. Haldir had already proved that it was possible, now I just wondered if they all were, or if it was just him. I eyed Elrond, judging the distance, and the elf lord barely had time to register that I was planning something before I poked him in the side. To my extreme delight, he made a funny noise and leapt to the side.  
  
"HA!" I exclaimed, grinning maniacally. Elrond looked at me funny, and Haldir seemed to be alternating between being shocked that I'd poked the elven lord, and laughing because Elrond was ticklish.  
  
"I think you will find plenty of amusement without leaving your room." Elrond said dryly, shaking his head.  
  
"I think I might at that." I said, still grinning.  
  
"If not, we can always use Erin's current immobility to discover if she is ticklish." Haldir said dryly, and I meeped.  
  
"I'll save you the trouble - I am!" I squeaked. "I kick and scream when I get tickled, however."  
  
"I'm sure. But you will remember not to overexert yourself." Elrond said pointedly, and I nodded. "Good." then he bowed slightly, and left the room. Turning back to Haldir, I saw him staring at me funny.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"You poked Lord Elrond." Haldir stated.  
  
"Well duh. You saw it yourself." I said, rolling my eyes. Haldir shook his head.  
  
"Do you have no respect for authority?" he asked amused. He was trying to make light conversation, but the phrase brought back memories. The scene of my return home flashed in front of my eyes.  
  
-  
  
"Mom, dad, I'm home!"  
  
"And where the hell have you been, bitch?!"  
  
"I went for a walk."  
  
"FOR SEVEN FUCKING MONTHS?"  
  
"Do you have any idea how worried about you we were?"  
  
"Seven...months?"  
  
"Yes, seven months you fucking bitch!"  
  
"Where the fuck have you been?"  
  
"I...I was on a trip..."  
  
"With some son of a bitch, I bet! What did he promise you, fucking true love?"  
  
"No, I went...I went by myself."  
  
"Oh, I'm fucking sure. Do you have no fucking respect?"  
  
"Yes. I do. I'm sorry, I -"  
  
"I'm sure you're fucking sorry, bitch!"  
  
"Maybe I should teach you some fucking respect!"  
  
SMACK  
  
"I'm sorry dad, I -"  
  
"Not fucking likely! Glory, leave. I'm gonna teach our daughter some respect."  
  
"Don't cripple her or anythin. The last thing we need to do is pay some fuckin medical bills for her."  
  
-  
  
"Erin?" Haldir's voice and his light touch on my shoulder snapped me out of my memories. I realized I had started crying, and I looked at Haldir through tear-stained eyes. Concern was on his face, and I threw my arms around him and held tight as I cried. He took a moment to respond to the hug, and then he started stroking my back and whispering something in Elvish to me. I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke again later, I was lying down in my bed with someone holding my hand. Cracking open my eyes a bit, I discovered that the someone was a drowsy-looking Boromir.  
  
"You look tired." I commented, and Boromir's half-closed eyes flew open. A smile spread on his face, and I returned it.  
  
"You would too, if you stayed up for several days with only a few hours sleep to watch over someone who was perfectly fine." Gandalf's dry voice came from near the door, and I lifted my head slightly to see the old wizard there, leaning on his staff.  
  
"Lord Elrond did not know if she was perfectly fine or not!" Boromir objected.  
  
"Well, I am." I replied promptly.  
  
"There, she has said she is fine herself. Will you not now rest?" Gandalf asked Boromir.  
  
"I will, but I would like to speak with Erin for a moment before I do." Boromir said, shooting a pointed glance at Gandalf, who chuckled.  
  
"Very well then." he said. "I shall speak with you later, Erin." was the wizards parting comment before he left the room. I peered up at Boromir, who waited until the door had been shut for a few moments before turning to me. He looked dreadfully serious, and I suddenly knew what was coming.  
  
"Erin, I wish to apologize." he began.  
  
"For what?" I asked, playing dumb for the moment.  
  
"For my words to you before you left for Mordor. They were wrong, and I should not have said them. I know nothing can excuse them, and I would understand completely if you could not forgive me for them." Boromir said in a rush. When he was done, I couldn't help but pity him. It was obvious that this had been tearing him apart inside, and pain was clear in his eyes. As were many other emotions.  
  
"I forgave you even before I went home, Boromir." I said with a half smile, and Boromir looked startled. "And really, the fact that you came and got me COMPLETELY cancels out any remaining bad feelings about the incident." A smile slowly grew on Boromir's face, and he leaned over and wrapped me in a huge hug. I simply enjoyed the hug for a moment, and then realized how unbalanced Boromir was, half leaning out of the chair, and grinned. With a tug, I managed - amazingly - to pull him completely onto the bed, causing him to yelp slightly.  
  
"Much better." I said with a smile, snuggling up against Boromir, and he chuckled, then kissed my forehead lightly.  
  
"Agreed. But I'm afraid I shall just have to get up again, as I told Gandalf I would get some rest once I'd spoken with you, which I now have." Boromir said.  
  
"Who says you have to go someplace else to get some rest?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Boromir looked at me, amused, and then gave me a light kiss.  
  
"You do have a point. And I'm sure I will get much better sleep here then I could anywhere else." he said, smiling softly, and I returned the smile. He made himself comfortable, and then I snuggled up against him as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. I went to sleep after awhile as well, though how I could have after sleeping the whole day I really don't know. I think I heard Gandalf peek into the room before I fell asleep, but the wizard is almost as quiet as an Elf when he wants to be, and I was too lazy to open my eyes to see what had caused the door to creak.  
  
---  
  
I woke to sunlight in my eyes the next morning. There was still a warm body beside me, and I realized that Boromir must have gotten up in the middle of the night or something, because he was now on the other side of me. Either that or we did some fancy shenanigans in our sleep. Given the fact that a few pieces of Boromir's clothing - the more uncomfortable ones like his belt - were on the chair beside the bed, and he had gotten under the covers of the bed, however, I figured he had risen in the middle of the night.  
  
My back was currently to Boromir, with his arms around my waist, and I turned in his arms so I could look at him. He was asleep, his face relaxed, and a light smile on his lips. His hair was a mess, and made him utterly adorable. I couldn't resist giving him a light kiss, which led to the discovery that Boromir had been pretending to be asleep.  
  
"Sneaky person, pretending to be asleep." I mock-scolded Boromir when our kiss ended.  
  
"Good morning to you, too." Boromir replied, looking extremely amused. I tried to keep a straight face, but ended up grinning after a few moments.  
  
"Good morning." I said, still grinning.  
  
"Have a good sleep?" Boromir asked.  
  
"Of course I did. I had a giant teddy-bear." I said. "Now I'm going to stop grinning, cuz my cheeks are hurting from grinning too much early in the morning." My grin slid into a more relaxed smile, and Boromir chuckled.  
  
"It is good to see you in such a good mood." he said, kissing my forehead lightly. "I was worried that you might have lost your joy in life after your...trip home." Though Boromir worded the comment carefully, the memories still surfaced again, and I involuntarily shuddered. "I am sorry, I should not have reminded you." Boromir said, concerned.  
  
"I'll need to confront my memories sooner or later, I'm sure, but I'd rather it be later then sooner." I said softly, and buried my face in the light shirt that Boromir was wearing.  
  
It suddenly occurred to me that Boromir smelled really good. He had an earthy smell, yet with a tinge of mustiness, as if he'd been indoors with old documents recently, and my hearts swelled with love. A longing rose up in me, then, and I drew back and looked up at Boromir, wondering at the feeling that was rising inside of me.  
  
I probed it, wondering what was at the base of the feeling. I realized the answer was quite simple. After what I'd been through, I wanted the comfort I had been denied for that horrible month at home...I wanted to be loved.  
  
Boromir was knocked onto his back with my kiss, and the emotions behind it. I had caught him off-guard, but he quickly recovered, holding me tightly and deepening the kiss even more. Honestly, I thought the gentleman in him was going to make an objection at any moment to where this was obviously leading, but he didn't even pause when his shirt was added to the pile on the chair by my bed, quickly followed by my own... 


	25. S E X

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
I own Erin, Tolkien owns Boromir and Middle-Earth, and SplendiferGoddess is the dirty mind that wrote this scene. (well, except for the last half of the last sentence. :P)  
  
~ Chapter XXV~  
  
~ S E X ~  
  
I pulled away from our kiss, sitting up straight to catch my breath. I was straddling Boromir, and we were both rather topless.   
  
I smiled slightly at Boromir, and he looked at me with surprise all over his face. I smiled fully, and he returned the gesture.   
  
He quickly let his gaze slide over my torso, and I blushed slightly.  
  
"You're beautiful," he whispered up at me, causing me to blush pinker. He smiled and pulled me back down, to bring our lips together again.  
  
Quite suddenly, he flipped me over so that he was straddling me. He kissed each of my eyelids softly, and then moved his mouth to my neck, where he began to lay a fluttery trail of kisses. I buried my nose in the crook of his neck and breathed his scent in.  
  
He ended his kisses at the dip at the base of my neck, by my collar bone. He placed one more kiss below it, and then peered up at me, his eyes questioning. I nodded, and he continued his way down, between my breasts and on southwards.  
  
His hair brushed against my skin, and I giggled at the tickly sensation. I felt him smile against my stomach, and I smiled, staring up at the ceiling. I let him fully caress my stomach with his mouth and hands, which were running up and down my sides softly. They were just barely not tickling me - enough to get my blood flowing, and mostly downwards.  
  
He stopped at my belly button, and let his tongue dip into it and swirled it slightly before raising his head back up and quickly moving back up to kiss my lips again.  
  
He settled himself carefully above me, elbows on either side of my neck, and gazed down at me. I looked up at him, my head cocked to one side, and smiled slightly.  
  
"Erin," he whispered.  
  
"Mmm?" I answered in reply, just wanting to look at him and listen to him and stay like this forever.  
  
"Are you sure... Are you sure you want this?" he asked me. I fixed his gaze with my own.  
  
"More than anything in the world," I replied after a moment, quietly but firmly. I quickly brought one arm up to wrap around his neck and pulled his head down, so that I could kiss him.  
  
He slipped into my mouth, and our tongues danced for a moment before he pulled away again. He reached down and lightly touched the skin right above my pants. I whimpered at the teasing touch, and reached down to undo his pants. He laughed slightly and began to undo mine.  
  
I have to say though, he took a good deal longer with my pants than I did with his, but no doubt that's because my hands and fingers are smaller. Less fumbling.  
  
He hooked his fingers onto the edge of my pants and slowly pulled them down to reveal my underwear. I shimmied my legs a bit, to help the pants slide off, and soon they had joined our discarded shirts.  
  
I quickly helped Boromir lose his own pants, and then he lay down next to me. I felt a bit embarrassed, lying there with Boromir, both of us in just underwear.  
  
Although, I have to say, Middle-Earth guys get more coverage with their underwear than do the women. Boromir had what was a rather nice pair of boxers on, and all I got was a pair of rather small brief-panties.  
  
I was quickly brought out of my thoughts as Boromir kissed my ear lightly. I smiled, and pushed him onto his back, so I was once again on top of him, straddling his hips.  
  
I leaned down and kissed his nose, chin, cheeks, forehead, eyelids - basically everywhere on his face *but* his mouth. He looked up at me with a quizzical smile and I laughed softly.  
  
I leaned down and playfully nibbled his left earlobe, then sat back up. With a small smile, I shimmied down his legs a bit, until I was face-to-chest with him. I kissed his collar bone, and then followed more or less the same trail his own mouth had taken on me.  
  
I ended at his belly button, which I kissed softly, and then moved so I was laying down next to Boromir again. I looked him in the eye and nodded slightly. He knew what it meant.  
  
He slipped his underwear off, and then my own. I shyly peeked downwards, and couldn't help widening my eyes a bit. Talk about well endowed.  
  
He positioned himself over me and between my legs. He looked at me seriously.  
  
"If you do not wish to continue, I will stop now," he told me. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you." I sighed contentedly, and smiled. I loved him so much.  
  
"I want this," I told him, forcing myself to relax - my muscles had involuntarily tensed a bit when he had lowered himself onto me.  
  
He kissed me softly, and then we both did our part in deepening the kiss, as he slid into me. He pushed himself in completely, and then stopped and let me get accustomed to his, ahem, size.  
  
I wrapped my arms around him, and gave him a quick kiss of encouragement on his shoulder, and he began to slowly thrust into me, building up a steady and firm rhythm.  
  
With every thrust, I clung tighter to him, amazed at how good it felt to have him inside me - I had never thought I would be able to enjoy sex. But this wasn't just sex. Boromir was making love to me, and I to him, and I had never felt anything like this in my life.  
  
Before long, he was beginning to breath rather heavily against my neck, and I was breathing in sharp gasps, myself. I could feel the heat within myself rising in temperature, and I then, I felt myself orgasm.  
  
I had never orgasmed before, and I couldn't help but cry out as the feeling of intense pleasure rippled through my body. Boromir climaxed soon after me, with his own cry of release, and then we lay there, unmoving for a minute, regaining our breath.  
  
I stared up, seeing stars before my eyes. That had been the most amazing experience of my life. Heck, it was better than seeing the giant eagles, even. Boromir rolled off of me and I snuggled close to him.  
  
"I love you," he whispered to me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close.  
  
"I love you, too," I replied softly. "More than I ever would have thought possible." He kissed my head softly, and I cuddled into him, sighing contentedly. 


	26. Conversations, and More Explanations and

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"I am a nobody, nobody is perfect, therefore I am perfect." - Unknown (at least to me)  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
See all previous chapters except #25. That disclaimer is unique to that chapter. :P  
  
~ Chapter XXVI~  
  
~ Conversations, Explanations and an Apology ~  
  
Boromir and I lay silent, just cuddling up against each other, for quite awhile after we made love. I decided that that had to be the best way ever to wake up in the morning. Of course, that may have been the result of the endorphin high I'm pretty sure I spent the entire morning on.  
  
"Erin." Boromir was the one broke the comfortable silence first, and I was amused to discover that his voice went rather deep after certain activities.  
  
"Mm?" I asked, too lazy to formulate actual words to reply. Said laziness was also what caused me to pout slightly when Boromir pulled back a bit so he could look me in the eye.  
  
"I...I want to ask you something." Boromir said, and I arched an eyebrow at him. I thought of making a sarcastic retort, but something told me now was not a good time.  
  
"What did you want to ask?" I asked. Boromir hesitated, and then, curiously enough, he rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly trying to collect his thoughts before speaking. This curious behavior brought me somewhat out of my laziness, and I propped myself up on one elbow and looked down at him questioningly.  
  
"Erin..." Boromir paused, shook his head, and opened his mouth to try again, then stopped and frowned. I tried to keep a straight face. Really, I did. But he looked hilarious, and a giggle escaped. Boromir looked at me oddly.  
  
"You looked funny!" I said defensively, then poked him when his expression didn't change. And since you can't exactly turn off being ticklish, being poked caused Boromir to yelp and jump a bit. I grinned, remembering the other ticklish persons I'd discovered.  
  
I opened my mouth to tell Boromir about my discovery, but at that moment, his hand shot out and tickled MY side. I let out a strange squeak and jerked away. Boromir, however, did not seem content with that, and decided to play the 'Boromir Pins and Tickles Erin Mercilessly' game. He didn't stop tickling me until I was laughing so hard I was crying and gasping for breath in-between giggles. Then he propped himself up, still on top of me, with an elbow on either side of my head, and watched with amusement as I gulped in air.  
  
"That was no fair." I complained when I got my breath back.  
  
"Nor was laughing when I was trying to be serious." Boromir replied with a grin, and kissed me lightly on the nose.  
  
"I couldn't help it!" I mock-whined. "You looked funny!" Then, abruptly, I turned curious. "What were you going to ask, anyways?" In response, Boromir unpropped his head and leaned close to my ear. His breath on my ear tickled, but that was very quickly forgotten at his next words.  
  
"Erin, will you marry me?" I blinked.  
  
"Uh..." I said intelligently. Boromir's entire body was tense, I realized, and was also very close...and distracting. I turned my mind back to the subject at hand, and my mind began to whirl about. One thought occurred to me, and I realized I needed the answer to it.  
  
"This isn't just because we -" I stopped, as Boromir had drawn back and was already shaking his head in response to my question.  
  
"I was...I was going to ask before you left for Mordor. But..." Boromir paused, not knowing quite how to phrase that part of the answer.  
  
"Things happened." I supplied dryly, and Boromir nodded, smiling slightly. Then his face turned serious, as did mine, as I looked up at him and seriously thought about his question. I loved him - I knew that. For that reason alone I wanted to say yes. But there was still the question of my being in Middle-Earth after Galadriel had flat-out told me that my presence here would destroy the world. Gandalf apparently didn't agree with that, but I had yet to ask him about it.  
  
"I need to think about this, Boromir." I said softly after awhile, when it became clear that no answer would be forthcoming without first talking to a few people. Boromir simply nodded, and let the subject drop as he rolled off of me. I immediately cuddled up to him, suddenly wanted the blissful oblivion of sleep, but Boromir was in the mood to talk. After a few interesting comments about Faramir, Boromir, mud-pies and the tower guard, causing the formation of the mental image of a 7-year-old Boromir, I found myself wanting to talk, as well. Boromir and Faramir had apparently been quite the little hellions when they were younger, with Faramir's ranger-like hiding skills and Boromir's bold-as-brass bluffing to get them out of whatever trouble they got themselves into.  
  
We spent the rest of the morning talking. We hadn't really had the chance to talk about nothing important since the Fellowship had set out from Rivendell, and it was relaxing to just lie there beside him and talk. Occasionally my mind would turn to his question, but I quickly turned it back to the topic at hand, as I knew there was nothing I could decide until I talked to Gandalf.  
  
But during that morning, in-between tales of 'What Faramir And Boromir Did to The Tower Guard' and 'Good Places To Hide In The Citadel', we got on to the most inane things. Like whether apples or oranges were better. I was staunchly for apples, and Boromir was arguing for the good qualities of oranges. That ended in another game of 'Boromir Pins and Tickles Erin Mercilessly'. I was forced to concede that oranges were better then apples before Boromir stopped.  
  
Around that time, our stomachs decided that this talk of oranges and apples was making them hungry, and growled loudly in unison. We laughed at that, and, since Lord Elrond had told me yesterday that I needed to stay in bed, Boromir rose and got dressed before giving me a kiss and setting out to find some food. I lay in the bed, utterly bored, until he came back. Setting the tray on the bed, he stripped again before hopping in beside me once more.  
  
We then had a grand time cracking jokes while eating, trying to make the other laugh so hard they couldn't eat. I think I managed to do it five times to Boromir, while he only managed it twice. By the time we were done eating, I had decided that all the humour fanfiction writers in my world deserved a whole lot of sugar, since I used several of their jokes to make Boromir laugh.  
  
Amazingly enough, no one bothered Boromir and I for the rest of the day as we continued to stay in bed and chatter away. And, of course, do other less interuptable things. Boromir managed to drag himself out of the bed once more to get some more food around the time the sun set, and by that time we were so tired that we ate in silence, and almost immediately afterwards, curled up against each other and went to sleep.  
  
When I woke the next morning, there was a decided lack of a warm body in the bed next to me, and somehow I'd donned a night gown and underwear. I'd definitely have to ask Boromir how he managed that. I'm not a light sleeper, but I hate being moved from a comfortable position, and tend to kick in my sleep when I am.  
  
"Good morning, Erin." Gandalf's voice made me blink, and I peered around the room until I spotted him standing off to the side of the bed, watching me. I almost made a comment about wizard-voyeurs, but decided that if I wanted to get any answers out of Gandalf, that might not be too good an idea.  
  
"Good morning, Gandalf." I said instead as I sat up in the bed.  
  
"And how are you feeling? Well-rested, I hope?" the wizard asked, and I nodded. He seemed inclined not to mention that I spent all of yesterday in bed with Boromir, if he even knew about it, and I was not going to bring up the subject myself.  
  
"Yep." I replied. "And I'm actually rather glad you're here, because there were some things I wanted to talk to you about."  
  
"I thought so." Gandalf said with a nod. "Which is why I am here. But before we talk, perhaps you should eat." I nodded emphatically at that.  
  
"Very good idea." I said, and Gandalf chuckled. He left the room for a moment, and then returned with a tray of food. I ate around half the meal in silence, thinking up questions, then asked the most important one in my mind so that Gandalf could take his time to answer it while I finished eating.  
  
"Haldir said you didn't agree with Galadriel about Middle-Earth being destroyed if I stayed?" I prompted, and Gandalf took a moment before replying.  
  
"No, I do not." Gandalf said with a slight frown, and then paused again before continuing "Galadriel told me what she said to you, and I say that despite being Elven, she did not find quite the right words to describe the feeling Middle-Earth was giving her. There is not so much a strain in the world, but a struggle. Middle-Earth wishes to remain on it's proper course, but the changes you have caused are pulling it from that course. Galadriel believes that if the Middle-Earth is pulled off it's course, it will be destroyed. I do not believe it will be destroyed. I believe that Middle-Earth will simply create...a copy of itself, if you will. The two Middle-Earths will continue to coexist, one with you, and one without you." I finished my meal just as Gandalf finished speaking, and as I set the tray beside the bed, a thought occurred to me.  
  
"The multiple universe/timeline theory." I said slowly, and Gandalf blinked at me, obviously not understanding what I meant. "It's the theory that every moment in time, when some important decision is made, new universes - or timelines - sprout off, each following the path of what would have happened if a different decision had been made. Thus there are an infinite number of universes out there, and there is always one that will continue along the right path, while others go all over the place, following different possibilities." Gandalf looked at me in surprise.  
  
"Is this a commonly known theory in your world?" he asked.  
  
"Eh, most of the world doesn't believe in other universes. Too unimaginative." I replied with a shrug. "I'd say maybe somewhere under a billion or so people even know about the theory, in one form or another." Gandalf's eyes went wide with shock, almost completely ignoring my answer for the number I had used in it.  
  
"A billion?" he asked.  
  
"There are 6 billion people on my world." I informed Gandalf, and the poor wizard looked ready to pass out from shock. He obviously knew how large a number that was, but was having trouble believing that there was that many people in my world. It stands to figure, though. Middle-Earth probably wasn't even close to a billion residents, even if you counted Elves, Hobbits, Dwarfs AND Men. The Orcs might push it over, though. Those things were like rabbits. Reproduced like crazy. Which was actually a rather BAD thing, once one stops to think about it.  
  
"Amazing." Gandalf said after a moment, pulling me from my thoughts. He shook his head to gather his thoughts, and then continued along the previous line of discussion. "Yes, that theory summarizes what I believe is happening in Middle-Earth."   
  
"But then what's this...'struggling' you and Galadriel keep mentioning feeling?" I asked. Gandalf seemed thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"Perhaps the universe, to keep from having too many replications of itself, does not...'sprout' as easily as you mentioned. Perhaps it tries to remain the same for as long as it can, thus cutting down on the number of alternate universes." the wizard said after a moment. I blinked, digesting that.  
  
"Probably." I said.  
  
"So the 'struggling' Galadriel and I feel would be Middle-Earth attempting to stay along it's proper time-line, as we guessed." Gandalf continued, and seemed to be on a roll, but I felt a familiar ache at the back of my head that happened whenever I thought too long on complex philosophical questions. Not something I did very often, but the ache was very hard to mistake for anything other then the beginning of a headache.  
  
"I'm going to get a headache if I think on this any longer, so let's move on to another topic." I informed Gandalf before he could go on, and the wizard chuckled.  
  
"Very well. We shall have to discuss this at another time, however." he said. "I very much doubt I shall find anyone in Middle-Earth with as open a mind as you with which to discuss these sorts of things."  
  
"Why thank you!" I said, smiling and mock-bowing from my sitting position on the bed. Gandalf nodded at me, returning my smile.  
  
"What else did you wish to speak with me about?" he asked.  
  
"A few things." I replied. "But since we're on the topic of Why Middle-Earth Isn't Going To Blow Up If I Stay, I'll continue along that line. Have you told Galadriel about your theory? Haldir mentioned that you talked with her, but more then that, he said to ask you about."  
  
"I have told her, yes." Gandalf replied. "And I managed to convince her that there was no need for you to return home. Thus the reason why she helped me bring both you and Boromir back here to Middle-Earth."  
  
"OK, good." I said. "Next question, since you brought it up. What's all the stuff I'm hearing about transporting Boromir and I back here causing a certain elf queen and wizard to almost die?"  
  
"Hm. Indeed. The spell to bring both of you home was not an easy one. Transporting you home was simple - it was your home, and you were naturally pulled to it. Transporting Boromir to your world was slightly harder, but still relatively easy, as the main force was here, in his world, pushing him out of Middle-Earth to your world. Bringing you home...that was another matter. As a general rule pulling is much harder then pushing, and on top of the general difficulty of pulling two people into our world, your world was holding extremely tightly to you. The effort caused both Galadriel and I to exhaust ourselves. If not for the skills of Lord Elrond, his sons, and the healing power of athelas when used by Aragorn, we probably would not have survived."  
  
"Eee, yucky." I mumbled.  
  
"But Galadriel and I had it much better then you and Boromir." Gandalf commented. "The two of us were out of danger within the night, where as Elrond was not completely sure you'd recover until you woke two days ago."  
  
"Yeah, and he's still telling me to stay in bed." I said with a pout, then grinned. "But in revenge I discovered that he's ticklish." Gandalf chuckled. "Now - last thing, before I forget it, because it's way off topic from anything we're discussing. Remember waaaaaaaaay back before Sauron fell, when you first talked to me about stopping Boromir and Haldir from dying? You mentioned some freaky stuff about magic, my world, and Galadriel sensing some deep power in me. What was that about?" Gandalf smiled this time.  
  
"It is true that Galadriel sensed a deep power in you. At the first, when she told me of it, I thought that perhaps it was magic, of the sort that the White Council uses. But after having seen you stand without fear before not only the Lord of the Nazgul, but Sauron himself, I have realized what it was. Your knowledge of the future." Gandalf 'explained'.  
  
"Um..." I said uncertainly. "That just confused me more."  
  
"Middle-Earth is not like your world. Here, magic exists, and knowledge can be more powerful than an army." Gandalf explained patiently. "And it was your knowledge of the future - and the fact that Sauron would fall - that gave you a sort of power to resist the Nazgul and Sauron."  
  
"But when I first met Sauron, I was outright terrified of him." I pointed out.  
  
"Because your knowledge told you that you should be." Gandalf replied. "After you got over how your knowledge told you you should be reacting to Sauron, however, you reacted as if he were anyone else." I thought about that for a moment.  
  
"Strange." I said after a moment, shaking my head. "So, OK, I have another question that just popped into my head."  
  
"Another?" Gandalf asked with a laugh. "You are most curious."  
  
"Hey, if you're in the mood to answer questions, I could ask them all day." I replied. "Besides, you said you came here so I could ask you questions."  
  
"True." Gandalf said, still looking amused. "Ask away, then. Though I believe we shall have to halt our conversation soon to eat."  
  
"Agreed." I said, then paused. "Aw crap. Now I forgot what I was going to ask. Oh wait, no I didn't!" Gandalf chuckled at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him before continuing. "OK, so it's more of a comment to start a discussion then a question. But anyways. You say that Middle-Earth is struggling to keep along it's 'proper' course, despite all the changes I've made. But I've made a tremendous amount of changes - it should have already 'split'."  
  
"There is still a very slim possibility that we could return to the proper timeline." Gandalf said.  
  
"VERY slim." I said with a snort.  
  
"Yes, but as long as there's a chance, the world will continue to struggle to maintain it's proper course." Gandalf said.  
  
"So all that needs to happen is all chance of returning to the original timeline be obliviated?" I asked, and Gandalf nodded. "I would've thought that had already happened. After all, Denethor died the wrong way, Boromir's still alive, and Sauron appeared above the Black Gate for a little chit-chat before he fell."  
  
"Perhaps the changes have just been stacking up and all that needs to happen is one more change for the timeline to split." Gandalf suggested.  
  
"Like the straw that broke the camels back?" I mused, and Gandalf looked at me strangely, not understanding. I ignored the look, however, and thought about what he'd said. "So until that one change occurs that pushes the worlds to split, Middle-Earth will constantly be trying to return to it's original course?"  
  
"Correct." Gandalf said.  
  
"Which means Middle-Earth will keep trying to find ways for Haldir and Boromir to die." I said, thinking out loud at this point. Then I went back to thinking silently as a thought formed in my head as to one significant change that could be made to push this world to finally split into it's own timeline. That thought also lead to a decision  
  
"So, how big a change are we talking about? Something big? Or something small and inane, like, oh, me marrying Boromir?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at the wizard and grinning.  
  
"Though I would not call it 'small and inane', yes, that would most likely be all that would be needed to cause Middle-Earth to 'split'." Gandalf said, and then his eyes seemed to sort of cloud for a moment, and when they cleared, he looked at me appraisingly.  
  
"What?" I asked after a moment.  
  
"You mean to cause that change." Gandalf stated.  
  
"Duh, that's why I suggested it." I said sarcastically.  
  
"And that would also be why -" at that moment the door opened without a knock to reveal Galadriel, looking pissed.  
  
"Gandalf, the world has ceased its struggling." she said, sounding even more pissed then she looked.  
  
"Yes, it's finally split." Gandalf said with amusement, and my eyes widened.  
  
"Oopsies." I said, then grinned. "Sorry Galadriel, my fault. I decided something." Galadriel eyed me.  
  
"And what did you decide, child, that caused the world to 'split'?" the elven queen asked.  
  
"The answer to a question Boromir asked me yesterday morning." I replied innocently. Galadriel practically glared at me.  
  
"I would remind you who you are talking to, child -" she began in an icy voice, but I cut her off.  
  
"I know very well who I'm talking to, but if you'll forgive me, I'm not particularly up to feeling nice to someone who caused me to have a traumatic experience which I'm still trying not to have an emotional breakdown over." I said, my tone matching Galadriel's perfectly. "And you don't have to keep on calling me 'child'. I know I'm a helluva lot younger then you, you don't need to keep reminding me." Galadriel looked at me carefully, her gaze intense, and then she seemed to soften, and suddenly she was standing beside my bed. I blinked. Damn elves and their quick movement.  
  
//My apologies, Erin.// The voice came in my head, and I blinked and looked at Galadriel in surprise. //I did what I thought best, but for the first time in over a millennia, I was wrong.// It's not every day you have a queen telling your they're sorry and that they messed up, so I was, for once, at a loss for words. I settled on accepting Galadriel's apology with a nod. She nodded back, and then turned, and with another nod to Gandalf, left the room.  
  
Gandalf, though he had not heard Galadriel's apology, must have at least guessed at what had happened, but didn't mention it. We talked for a few more minutes about random things, then Gandalf excused himself, and a few moments later, Elrond entered the room with a tray of food. I thanked him, and as I scarfed down the food, he did his little hand-on-the-forehead-health-check thing to see if I was OK. He promptly scolded me for over-exerting myself, and I just stuck my tongue out at him. When I was done eating, Haldir popped in, claiming the rest of the Fellowship wanted to talk to me. Elrond, however, shooed Haldir out, saying the Fellowship could wait until tomorrow, as I needed to REST. He said the last part with a pointed look at me, and I told him he was lucky he wasn't within arms reach, which earned me a scowl from the Elf lord. Then he took the now empty tray and left, and I was left alone to sleep. 


	27. The End

~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~  
  
~ Quote: ~  
  
"MOMMYYYYY!! IT'S OVEEEEER!!!" - That little monster-dude thingy at the end of 'Just for Laughs'  
  
~ Disclaimer: ~  
  
I own Erin, and the specific way the words are put together in this story. I do not, however, own any of the other characters, or the plot which is formed by the words that put together this story, or anything else.  
  
~ Chapter XXVII~  
  
~ The End ~  
  
I must have tired myself out more then I thought, because I didn't wake until the next afternoon, and then only because my stomach was gurgling at me. Elrond, somehow, managed to walk in a few moments after I woke up with food. I ate, he checked my health again, and then told me to sleep some more before heading out again. I finished eating, and then followed the healers orders and went back to sleep.  
  
I woke again the next morning, feeling restless. There was no one else in the room, and I knew I wouldn't be sleeping again for a good while, so I started inspecting my room as well as I could from the bed. Within minutes, I was utterly bored. And I spent at least another good hour like that, before the door cracked open and a hobbit head appeared, peeking into the room.  
  
"You're awake!" Pippin exclaimed.  
  
"Was it that obvious?" I asked, and Pippin grinned at me.  
  
"Just a moment, then! I'll go tell everybody else! They've been wanting to speak with you for several days!" the hobbits said, still grinning, and then disappeared. A few minutes later, I heard the distinctive sound of someone wearing heavy boots coming down the hall, and then the door opened again to reveal the Fellowship - well, except for Gandalf and Aragorn. And much to my delight, Pippin was carrying a tray of food.  
  
"Hobbits officially rock!" I exclaimed upon noticing the food, and Pippin grinned at me as the rest of the Fellowship laughed. They then set about arranging themselves in various spots around my room. The hobbits, after Pippin handed me my tray of food, jumped up on the end of the bed and sat there, while Boromir joined me at the head of the bed. Gimli sat in the chair beside the bed, and Legolas stood by the side of the bed.  
  
"So, how is everybody?" I asked as I started eating, and boy did THAT set off the conversation. Merry and Pippin were full of tales about their being knights of Rohan and Gondor, and Sam was going on non-stop about the elves, and Gimli matched Sam's enthusiasm with his complaints. Legolas seemed a little out of it for awhile, until I asked him if he'd heard the gulls, and that started him off about the sea. Boromir remained silent - there really was nothing for him to tell me that he hadn't two days ago.  
  
Frodo also remained silent, but I think it was more because of his recent quest. In an effort to cheer him up, I made use of the fact that Legolas had been lulled into a false sense of security by me being confined to bed, and I poked him. His reaction made everyone laugh. He was on the other side of the room in a flash, with a cornered-deer look in his eyes.  
  
"I do believe all elves are ticklish!" I crowed.  
  
"Just because one is does not mean they all are." Legolas said stiffly, trying to compose himself as the rest of the Fellowship remained grinning or laughing.  
  
"How about if three are?" I asked innocently, and Legolas looked at me and blinked.  
  
"You know of other elves that are ticklish?" Gimli demanded, and I nodded, grinning. "Who?"  
  
"Haldir, for one." I said, and then paused and grinned wider before continuing. "And Lord Elrond for the other." There was a moment of stunned silence, and then even Legolas was chuckling.  
  
"And how, pray tell, did you find this out?" Boromir asked once the laughter had calmed down.  
  
"He told me I had to stay in bed, so I poked him. And he made a funny noise and leapt sideways. It was quite amusing." I replied.  
  
"And Haldir?" Merry asked.  
  
"Oh, he needed a whack. But it was the day we were leaving for Mordor, and I couldn't very well whack him in front of the troops, so I poked him. That was probably the only time I will ever see and elf almost fall off their horse." I replied, and when Legolas nodded vigorously, several of the hobbits chuckled - Gimli outright laughed. Then we got into a discussion about horses, and then moved on to Dwarf transportation methods when Gimli complained loudly about horses.  
  
The rest of the morning was spent talking with the Fellowship. Elrond arrived shortly after noon with some more food for me and attempted to shoo everyone out, saying I needed my rest. He was, however, not getting a lot of respect, as everybody was busy trying not to laugh as they recalled that he was ticklish. Of course, I really didn't help it along when I poked him again. With a glare, he left, declaring that if I got myself sick from overexerting myself, he would not be held responsible.  
  
The Fellowship ended up leaving, anyways. Well, almost all of them left. I had managed to end up sitting in Boromir's lap, and I was way too comfortable to move. So Boromir remained behind while everyone else went off. I'm pretty sure I heard a rather dirty joke from Gimli about it before they were out of earshot, as well.  
  
"I do have duties I need to attend to, beloved." Boromir said when we were alone, but completely undermined what he said by kissing my neck lightly.  
  
"I think your duties can wait." I said, snuggling back against him as he proceeded to spread a trail of light kisses up my neck.  
  
"Mm." Was the response I got as Boromir reach my ear and nibbled on it. I tried not to comment, really I did. But I was in a silly mood due to the Fellowship, and couldn't resist.  
  
"I'm being eaten by the Steward of Gondor!" I exclaimed in mock-horror, and Boromir chuckled.  
  
"And you taste exquisite." He said, kissing me lightly on the cheek.  
  
"Well, there goes my excuse the next time a wild animal decides it wants to eat me." I said with a grin.  
  
"You would charm any wild animal with your beauty before the thought even crossed its mind to eat you." Boromir said with a smile, and I blushed.  
  
"Flatterer." I accused.  
  
"Nay, I speak the truth." Boromir said defensively. "For your beauty is incomparable to any but the Elven maidens of legend."  
  
"You just want me to answer your question." I said, reaching back and lightly whapping him on the head.  
  
"Why do I need a reason to inform my love of her beauty?" Boromir asked in response, catching my wrist as I went to put my hand down, and somehow he then used his hold on my wrist to get my turned sideways in his lap. I had started to form a reply, but then, strange and love-sick as this sounds, I promptly forgot what it was I was going to say as I lost myself in his eyes.  
  
The eye-contact was broken only as I closed my eyes when Boromir leaned in and kissed me deeply. When he drew away, both of us were panting, and we remained apart only long enough to catch our breath before kissing once more. At that point, Boromir's hands started to explore, and I realized that as I really was too tired to take this any further, I should stop encouraging him. So I pulled back and cuddled up to him.  
  
"I know my answer to your question." I said, and I felt Boromir's breath catch. Then he seemed to calm himself, and he kissed the top of my head lightly.  
  
"Do you, now?" he asked.  
  
"Mm-hm." I replied. "You wanna know what it is?"  
  
"One usually asks a question with the intent of getting an answer." Boromir said lightly, but I could tell he was nervous. I looked up at him and smiled, then promptly knocked him onto his back as I kissed him passionately. I pulled away after a very long kiss, and leaned down by his ear to give my reply.  
  
"Yes." I breathed in his ear, and there was a moments pause before I found myself caught in another passionate kiss, only this time, I was the one on my back. When the kiss ended, Boromir rolled so he was beside me again, and I snuggled up next to him.  
  
"Mmm, now I'm all tired out." I commented, and Boromir chuckled, then kissed me lightly on the head.  
  
"Then sleep." he suggested.  
  
"I think I'll do that." I said with a small yawn. But as I tried to go to sleep, a song from my world started running through my head, and I started humming it.  
  
"That is a beautiful melody." Boromir commented softly after a few bars.  
  
"It's a song from my world." I said. "It has words, but I can only remember the chorus."  
  
"Would you sing it for me?" Boromir asked.  
  
"I don't have the best singing voice, but what the heck." I said, and yawned slightly, before I started singing softly.  
  
"'Cuz your love is too strong and I can't go on  
  
Without your tender arms around me  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
I don't wanna resist 'cause your touch and your kiss  
  
Have shattered my defenses  
  
I surrender..." I finished the chorus and yawned slightly again.  
  
"You have a wonderful singing voice." Boromir said softly.  
  
"Mmm, thanks. Now I'm tired an gunn go t'sleep, mmkay?" I said, my speech getting lazy at the end as I felt my eyelids drooping.  
  
"Sleep well. I love you." Boromir whispered in my ear.  
  
"Love you too, 'Mir." I mumbled, and then drifted off into sleep.  
  
---  
  
I spent the next three days in bed, sleeping as much as I could, before Elrond finally allowed me to get up. That evening, over a meal with the rest of the Fellowship, Boromir and I announced our engagement. Everybody was extremely happy for us, and toasted to our happiness several times. Though both Arwen and I stopped drinking after about the third toast. The men, hobbits, elf, wizard and dwarf did not. By the time the evening was over, Arwen and I were watching with amusement as the males tried to remember what a straight line was, and why they needed to walk in it.  
  
I wondered at the appropriateness of the King of Gondor get sloshed, but Arwen just gave a wicked smile and said something about blackmail. Plus, as she pointed out, the servants had been dismissed a long time ago, along with the guards, so there was nobody to see. Which is why I probably shouldn't have been surprised when, the next day, Arwen started making up outrageous stories about what the males had done while drunk. And Arwen has a rather odd, twisted sense of humour.  
  
For awhile, she managed to convince Legolas and Gimli that they spent half the evening making out. Of course, then they found out that she was lying to them, and...well, things got interesting. Apparently the only things Elves love better then running around in their woods and being all wise is having a nice, refreshing round of practical jokes. Everybody let Legolas and Arwen go first wherever they went with them for the next few weeks, and quite often with good reason.  
  
But while Legolas and Arwen's round of practical jokes was going on, there was also a bustle around the palace due to Boromir and my's engagement. In the beginning, everybody was asking me everything about when were we going to get married, and what was the wedding going to be like, and on and on. However, about that time, I had my long-promised emotional breakdown from my trip home.  
  
I can't remember much from that time, but I was told that at one point Aragorn had to issue and order that no one was to let a weapon within 30 feet of me, because they feared I'd used it to harm myself or others. What I do remember is a helluva lot of crying, and the almost constant presence of either Boromir or Haldir. No one told me much about what happened, either. But by the time I recovered from my emotional breakdown, all of the Fellowship knew, somehow or another, what had occurred while I'd been at home.  
  
When I finally did recover, it was time for the long over-due dissolving of the Fellowship. We went on our long round-about journey, and to my surprise, even though we were a good month late in the journey, everything happened as it was supposed to. At least from what I heard. There was perhaps a little more damage to the shire then there should have been, which I would eternally regret, but there was nothing to be done about it but try and recover.  
  
It wasn't until late summer the next year that the Fellowship saw each other again, this time gathering for Boromir and I's wedding. It was a rather traditional - and large - Gondor wedding, since I'd flat out told the women in charge of putting it together that as long as I ended out getting married to Boromir, I did not care what happened, or how anything looked. The women were shocked for a moment, then grinned as they realized that I was essentially leaving the planning to them. I insisted on having - or rather, on NOT having - a few things, but on the whole, Boromir had more to do with planning the wedding then I did.  
  
But in the end, get married we did, with the entire Fellowship there, and then promptly disappeared to Ithilien for two weeks for a honeymoon. There was no such thing as a honeymoon in Middle-Earth, I'd discovered, but I'd decided I wanted one anyways. And what better place then Ithilien, where I already wanted to go? When we got back to Minas Tirith, the Fellowship had already disbursed along on their merry ways, and my life as the wife of the Steward of Gondor began.  
  
And what a life it was - full of enough happiness and contentment to cause even the readers of romance novels to have problems holding the contents of their stomachs in. But all in all, after what I'd been through during the War of the Ring, I was glad my life held no more adventure.  
  
---  
  
I can't pretend anymore  
  
That I am not affected, I'm not moved  
  
I can't lie to myself that I'm not always thinking of you  
  
You make me strong  
  
You show me I'm not weak to fall in love  
  
When I thought I'd never need now I can't get enough  
  
I always made it on my own  
  
I always thought that I would keep control  
  
You changed everything I believe in  
  
And now I just can't fight this feeling baby  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
  
Without your tender arms around me  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
I don't wanna resist 'cause your touch and your kiss  
  
Have shattered my defenses  
  
I surrender  
  
I have to admit that I  
  
Never thought I'd need someone this way  
  
'Cause you opened my eyes so that I I can see so much more  
  
I always made it on my own  
  
I always thought that I would keep control  
  
You changed everything I believe in  
  
And now I just can't fight this feeling baby  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
  
Without your tender arms around me  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
I don't wanna resist 'cause your touch and your kiss  
  
Have shattered my defenses  
  
I surrender  
  
I surrender to this feeling in my heart  
  
I surrender to the safety of your arms  
  
To the touch of your lips  
  
To the taste of your kisses  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
  
Without your tender arms around me  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
  
Without you..........  
  
I surrender  
  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
  
Without your tender arms around me  
  
I surrender  
  
I can't pretend anymore  
  
I can't lie to myself that I'm not always thinking of you  
  
"Surrender" by Laura Pausini  
  
~ C'est Finis ~ 


End file.
